The trial of former Reemtsma kidnapper Thomas Drach is ongoing. The defense attorney for his co-accused alleges bias to the court on Friday.
Cologne – In the trial against the former Reemtsma kidnapper Thomas Drach in Cologne, a bias application was made against the court on Friday. The defense attorney for Drach’s co-defendant accused the presiding judge of “arbitrariness”.
He spoke of an “accumulation of conduct” that suggested the court was “not impartial” toward its client.
At the Cologne regional court, Drach is accused of robbing four money transporters in Cologne, Frankfurt am Main and in Limburg in Hesse. In two of the acts, the 61-year-old is said to have shot and seriously injured a security guard.
Defendants remain silent
The charges include attempted murder and particularly aggravated robbery. The co-defendant is said to have been Drach’s accomplice. Both men have been silent so far. The process takes place under tightened security measures.
The defense attorney justified the application for bias, among other things, with various applications he had made to interrupt or suspend the hearing on the three previous days of the hearing, all of which had been rejected. Furthermore, his case file is still incomplete, despite repeated references to the court and the public prosecutor’s office. “An effective defense of my client is not possible in this way,” the defense attorney complained.
When asked by the court, Drach’s defense attorney did not agree with the application. In a statement, the public prosecutor’s office assessed the course of the process to date as “legally compliant” and the application for bias as “unfounded”. dpa
