After the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court had to release six suspected violent criminals due to being overburdened, the SPD and FDP see the new Hessian Justice Minister as having a duty. Roman Poseck (CDU) promised when he took office that everything would get better, said the SPD parliamentary group leader in the Hessian state parliament, Günter Rudolph, on Saturday in Wiesbaden and asked: “Is it good for the Hessian citizens that alleged violent criminals are free walk around?” The legal policy spokeswoman for the FDP parliamentary group in the state parliament, Marion Schardt-Sauer, described the release as a “scandal with announcement”.
The Minister of Justice, as President of the Higher Regional Court (OLG), recently warned of such a development, said Rudolph. According to Rudolph, if arrest warrants were to be lifted due to procedural delays, Posek had spoken of a “declaration of bankruptcy by the rule of law”.
“Now it is up to him, as the new Minister of Justice, to prevent the bankruptcy of the rule of law. Ten new hires and an expression of regret will not be enough.” The Higher Regional Court itself says that it is “structurally overloaded”. “This cry for help must be heard.”
The FDP politician Schardt-Sauer emphasized in a statement: “The overloading of the judiciary and the resulting length of proceedings are a long-known problem that the new justice minister inherited from his predecessor. It is now his duty to stop and reverse the gradual disarmament of the rule of law so that other suspected criminals do not roam free.”
On Friday, the Higher Regional Court ordered the release of six suspected criminals from custody because their proceedings were taking too long. The arrest warrants were lifted.
In total, there are three different criminal proceedings, in one case with four suspects. They are charged with crimes such as attempted manslaughter. Poseck regretted the procedural delays on Friday. “This is a bad signal in our constitutional state, which should stand for consistent criminal prosecution,” he said.
