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Project Group Meetings

The various monitoring teams meet once a month for a joint event. These meetings serve primarily as a forum for exchange and teaching. In this context, procedural questions are discussed on the basis of the events in the courtroom. Guests are regularly invited to let the process observers participate in their experiences and impart special knowledge. Below is a selection of reports of meetings with such special guests.

  • Dieter Magsam and Dr. Hildegard Schürings (2016)

    During our project group meeting in April 2016, we welcomed the joint plaintiff representative, Mr. Dieter Magsam, from the Frankfurt genocide trial. Since we had already hosted representatives of the Attorney General and the defense guests, the monitors were now gaining insights into the work and impact of an “Opferanwalt”. Our other guest we hosted was Dr. Hildegard Schürings. Thanks to her many years of work in Rwanda, she was able to provide us with her impressions about the background of the process and the social work-up of the genocide in the country itself. In December 2015, former Rwandan Mayor Onesphore R. was sentenced to life imprisonment for his involvement in the 1994 genocide. The defense appealed the sentencing.

  • Dr. Carsten Paul (2015)

    At the project group meeting on January 14th, 2015, the monitors welcomed Dr. Carsten Paul, Vice President of the District Court of Marburg, as their guest. He reported on the “Media-Process” in Marburg, which some monitors had observed as part of their training program, and subsequently made themselves available for the students' questions, focusing on the concrete process as well as fundamental questions of German criminal justice and the work of a judge.

  • Armin Golzem (2014)

    As a starting point for the evaluation phase of the “Islamist trial” in front of the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court by the Marburger Monitors, one of the defense lawyers, Attorney at Law Armin Golzem, visited on 12 February 2014 during the monthly Project Group Meeting to describe the process from his point of view and answer the Monitor’s questions. Mr. Golzem described at which points the procedure was problematic. In this case, the concentration was on international humanitarian law definitions and also questions of proof. Among other things, these aspects will help monitors in their evaluation and review. A publication of the evaluation is expected in the second quarter of this year. In addition, Mr. Golzem gave the monitors exciting insights into his over four decades of experience as a defense lawyer in sometimes explosive and politically significant criminal proceedings: memories and assessments from his practice, that acted as a tour d’horizon through the recent german history.

  • Dr. Elisa Hoven and Mareike Feiler (2013)

    On 22.05.2013, Dr. Elisa Hoven and Mareike Feiler presented their qualitative study on victim participation at the ECCC to the Marburger Monitors. The monitors, who regularly learned about the progress of Procedure 002/01 through audiovisual presentations during their Project Group Meetings, now had the opportunity to broaden their knowledge of the hybrid tribunal.

  • Dr. Ignaz Stegmiller (2012)

    At a Project Group Meeting in which preparations were made to send a Marburger Monitor to the ECCC, Dr. Stegmiller attended as the guest. Dr. Stegmiller reported on the developments of his work with the NGO Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (Chrac). Dr. Stegmiller was employed as a senior legal advisor by GIZ at Chrac until the end of 2012 where he was responsible for topics such as the ECCC.

  • Dr. Karsten Krupna (2011)

    The 18.10.2011 meeting began with reports on the current process development on the criminal proceedings against Onesphore R. and for the first time the matter of Arid U. After these reports, Dr. Krupna presented the concept of the so-called “Hate Crimes”. After a thorough introduction in the topic, the participants discussed a possible classification of the currently observed procedure of “Hate Crimes” . In light of this, the problem that not every sociological phenomena could be explained by a (criminal) legal sentence appeared. Following this conclusion, the structural similarities between “Hate Crimes” and genocide were closely considered.

  • Dr. Gerd Hankel (2011)

    On 06. July 2011 Rwanda expert Dr. Gerd Hankel visited the Marburger Monitors. After a brief presentation of the current status of proceedings by participants in the monitoring project, an open question and answer session was opened. Dr. Hankel gave an insight into how O.R. is being tried in Rwanda and whether it was realistic to expect Rwandan authorities to try and influence the proceedings at all. The participants took the opportunity to intensely question Dr. Hankel on the Gacaca-Tribunal and their influence on the Transitional Justice Process in Rwanda.

  • RA Dr. Joachim Kaetzler (2011)

    The participants of the Marburg Monitoring-Project greeted Frankfurter attorney Dr. Joachim Kaetzler on June 7th, 2011. After the participants gave reports on the newest developments in the process against O.R., Dr. Kaetzler gave an introduction in the Rwandan justice system. Dr. Kaetzler was in multiple development projects, specifically in regards to the legal education system in Rwanda, and could speak in detail on the prison systems in Rwanda. After his report, Dr. Kaetzler was open for questions.

  • Professor Dr. Bernd Röhrle (2010)

    Marburger Professor Dr. Bernd Röhrle from the Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy was the first guest to visit the project group meetings. The topic of his presentation was "Possible Consequences of Secondary Trauma in Journalists and Lawyers". As part of this, Professor Röhrle presented the clinical picture of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and explained the symptoms, signs and significance. The secondary traumatization of helpers, journalists and lawyers was explained by means of specially conducted investigations in the USA. In July 2013, Professor Röhrle was again a guest in the project group meeting.