“Men fight for only two things: land and the woman they love. In every other case, it’s roosters that fight.”
Rasul Gamzatov
Our firm’s lawyers have, time and again, learned through their own experience just how varied our clients’ life situations and stories can be. Any one of us can end up in an entirely unpredictable and unfortunate situation, seemingly out of nowhere. Although Germany is traditionally seen as a fairly peaceful place to live, where residents of any city can move about freely, without fear of harassment or, worse, an assault, in practice things can look quite different. It is well known that some of our compatriots, even after moving to a country where, in theory, the principle that “one person’s freedom ends where another’s personal space begins” is strictly upheld, still like to settle disputes through brute physical force — or, more simply, through a fight, most often a drunken one. It is important to be fully aware that, in Germany, such incidents most often carry the most unfavorable consequences. Offenders are, as a rule, subject to both criminal and civil liability. Many of those who start a fight, especially if it is not their first time doing so, tend, through sheer recklessness, to underestimate the trouble heading their way. This can take the form of claims from the victim, as well as demands from health insurance funds, which, depending on the severity of the harm caused, can run into thousands of euros. The person at fault may end up paying such sums for years to come.
Under German law, causing bodily harm is a criminal offense prosecuted under the Criminal Code (StGB). The penalty for such an offense is set out in sections 223 and 224 of the German Criminal Code: section 223 provides for imprisonment of up to 5 years or a fine, while section 224 provides for imprisonment from 6 months to 10 years. To avoid such serious consequences, it is essential to always stay in control of yourself, in any situation, and to remember that any loss of composure or excessive emotion — let alone the use of physical force — can ruin the rest of your life. As the saying goes, a bad peace is always better than a good quarrel.
Client Story: Struck With a Backpack on an Evening Street
A client came to our law firm for a consultation, having been injured by the actions of a fellow countryman, and hoping, with our help, to obtain compensation for the material and non-material harm suffered, and to see justice done. The lawyer who took on the case asked the client to describe the circumstances of what had happened in full detail. Mikhail, as our client was called (name changed), was walking home from work one pleasant May evening. The weather in the city had finally turned lovely, and he was in no particular hurry. Listening to his favorite music, he walked down the street, eating ice cream and idly watching other passers-by.
Mikhail had just two blocks left to reach his apartment when he turned onto a narrow perpendicular street where a group of overly “cheerful” young men had gathered. They clearly had nothing better to do — drinking beer, laughing loudly, and commenting on every passer-by. Things might have ended without consequence, had it not been for the coincidence that both Mikhail and the group happened to be from Russia and, accordingly, spoke Russian. As our client walked past, they made a couple of crude jokes about his appearance and the way he walked. Despite having headphones in, Mikhail heard the “joke” perfectly well and told the young men, in equally fluent Russian, to knock it off.
It seemed as though the group loitering on the street had simply been waiting for a chance to let out their pent-up aggression. Mikhail was about to continue on his way home when one of the young men caught up with him, grabbed him by the jacket, and, as Mikhail turned around, struck him in the face with a heavy backpack. The attacker most likely had not expected such serious consequences: as a result of the blow, he badly cut Mikhail’s eyebrow. Of course, as soon as the young men saw blood on the victim’s face, they hurried off in an unknown direction.
All that the shocked Mikhail managed to do was quickly pull out his mobile phone and take a few photos of the fleeing group. He remained standing on the street, blood continuing to flow heavily from his cut eyebrow. At that moment, a man came out of a nearby office, having witnessed what had happened. He invited our client into the office to clean and disinfect the wound and called the police to the scene. Officers arrived about ten minutes after the call and drew up an incident report documenting the sequence of events. Mikhail then went to the nearest emergency clinic, where he received first aid and was issued a medical certificate documenting the bodily harm sustained. All that remained was to wait for the results of the police investigation and, later, for interviews, a trial hearing, and compensation for the harm suffered. He therefore turned to our firm to represent and protect his interests in the proceedings.
The Lawyer’s Work: Identifying the Attacker From a Photo
Having listened carefully to the client, the lawyer asked to see the photos taken at the scene of the attackers. The lawyer noticed that the young men were all wearing work uniforms. On one of their T-shirts, a company logo and name were clearly visible — the company the young men most likely worked for. Indeed, after searching the company’s website, and with our client’s help, we managed to identify one of the individuals present at the scene. Representing our client and acting under his power of attorney, we requested the relevant case file from the police. To speed things along, we also provided the police with the information we had gathered on the company the perpetrator worked for, as well as the identity of the individual present at the scene.
The police did not take long to track down the offender — his identity was established, and the corresponding charges under section 223 of the German Criminal Code were brought. We of course represented and defended our client’s interests throughout both the investigative proceedings and the trial hearing. The lawyer handling the case had the following core tasks:
- to present the precise facts of the case during the investigation, so that the police and the prosecutor’s office would form an accurate picture of the incident, to be classified as a criminal offense;
- on behalf of the client, as the victim in the case, to set out the circumstances of the case at the trial hearing, so that the person accused of the offense would receive a sentence proportionate to what he had done;
- within the parallel civil proceedings, to fully present evidence of the material and non-material harm suffered by our client as a result of the injury, and to obtain full compensation for the damages.
The Verdict: Eight Months’ Imprisonment
The outcome of this case was a sentence of eight months’ imprisonment for the offender. The punishment might not have been quite so severe had it not been for the young man’s prior conduct. As it later emerged, he already had 10 prior instances of administrative and criminal liability in Germany, on various grounds. Before this incident, he had always managed to get off relatively lightly, receiving either a fine or a suspended sentence. Since this case was yet another instance showing that the young man had not reformed and continued to flagrantly violate both legal and moral norms, the court this time decided on a harsher sentence, involving a fairly lengthy term of imprisonment.
In the civil proceedings, we continue to represent Mikhail’s interests and will pursue full compensation for the material and non-material harm he suffered, both during the trial hearing and in any subsequent enforcement proceedings.
Conclusion
In closing this article, we would once again like to note that, based on our clients’ experience, a lawyer’s professional support and involvement at every stage of the proceedings serve as a kind of guarantee of a successful outcome. A highly qualified and experienced lawyer can quickly assess a situation through a legal lens and promptly select the right legal tools to achieve the desired result. We are confident that common sense and caution will spare our readers from similar situations in their own lives. Nonetheless, as the saying goes, never say never. If you or someone close to you has become caught up in an unpleasant situation requiring a lawyer’s involvement, we invite you to turn to the experienced, highly qualified professionals at our law firm.
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