Cologne review
Cologne (ots)
Against the background of the serious case of abuse involving the Saarland priest Edmund Dillinger, the Vice President of the German Lawyers’ Association, Sonka Mehner, campaigned for an amendment to Section 184b of the Criminal Code regarding the possession of child pornographic material. The Essen-based criminal lawyer told the Kölnische Rundschau (Tuesday edition) that the provisions were tightened in the summer of 2020: “In the past, mere possession made oneself punishable, but that was not a crime, so there was no imprisonment of at least one year. ” In the Dillinger case, his nephew had found child pornography photos in the deceased’s estate and reported himself.
“Lawyers, especially the German Lawyers’ Association, have criticized the tightening of 2020 from the start because the problems were foreseeable, not to mention the overloading of the judiciary,” said Mehner. In the past, the public prosecutor’s office could have discontinued such proceedings for reasons of expediency. “Today, with the changed law, that’s no longer possible.” An example is a picture from a class chat that parents or teachers forward to the school management or that someone saves to report: “Then all these people are involved. And everyone has to be prosecuted, the public prosecutor’s office has to bring charges .” The only viable way is to take found material to the police immediately. “Destroying is not the right way,” said Mehner, referring to alleged statements by the chairman of the Trier investigation commission. Mehner welcomed the fact that Justice Minister Marco Buschmann wanted to turn back the tightening of 2020: It was “a return to the old legal situation that had existed for decades”.
Press contact:
Cologne review
Raimund Neuss
Phone: 0228-6688-546
[email protected]
Original content from: Kölnische Rundschau, transmitted by news aktuell
