Police brutality by Swiss/German border police

Geneva:--A Ghanaian Trade Official, Mr. Isaac Ato Wilson, has accused the Swiss/German border police in Gennan, of unlawful arrest, police brutality, inhuman treatment and violation of his basic fundamental human rights.

In a letter addressed to both the Swiss and German governments and made public here, he said “I was subjected to a total wrongful arrest, torture and harassment by officers of the Gennan border control in Swiss/German border.

“This resulted in a lot journey delays and humiliation, suffering, financial expenses arising hospital bills, hotel accommodation and additional transport fares in Basel: I seek re-dress from Basel authorities, German government and other authorities concerned for all these problems”.

In a telephone interview today, Mr. Wilson expressed shock and dismay that authorities concerned with his dilemma, for the past two-years after reporting the incident, have not been able to complete investigations or made public results of their investigations on the issue, neither have they been able to contact him.

He said to add insults to injury, the German Embassy in Ghana, late last year, refused him transit visa to travel on Lufthansa Airlines, on his way to Geneva, Switzerland to attend a conference “without any explanation”.

At the time of his arrest in the train on the Swiss/German border, Mr Wilson was serving as an intern of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) at the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States, in Swiss-Geneva Office. He was invited officially to Germany by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Head Office in Bonn, Germany to familiarize himself with some of the activities of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Headquarters and some selected internship programme.

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The round trip was by train from 28 November - 2 December2005. On my return trip on Friday, 2 December 2005, I boarded train (ICE 505 b. This train took off at Kiln at 10:54 and was expected to arrive in Basel at 14:47. My next train from Basel to Geneva was to take off at 15:05 and arrive at 17:47.

At 14:37 the train on which I was travelling stopped at Basel and some of the passengers started alighting. Not being so familiar with the route, I stood up to enquire from another passenger who was seated two seats ahead of me.

While waiting for a response to my enquiry, three officers suddenly (two men and a lady) appeared before me; I first asked them "please, is there any problem?" One man said something in German, which I did not understand. Well it was not in English. I guessed they were in to check my train ticket and my passport. I unzip my jacket and pullout my passport together with my tickets. Before I could hand over the passport to them, they had already handcuffed me in the train.

The other two officers (one man and the lady) brought out my luggage. This officer, who was marching me out, started tightening the handcuffs tightly around my writs, with the resultant pains, becoming quite unbearable. I said please, check my documents and check my passport. My passport had even fallen in the train. The officer who had handcuffed me kept on with his march. All this while they had not checked document I had on me.

They took me to an inner room at the railway station. On entering the room, the two men tightened the handcuff and folded my hands behind me more and more, almost to a choking point. I continued to plead with them to check my passport, or call in someone I could communicate with in English but my pleas ended on deaf ears.

Still in the handcuffs they floored met face-down, with one officer tightening his grip around my neck, whilst the other kept tightening the handcuffs and folding my hand behind me further. I started screaming and pleading that I was not a criminal; that they should check my documents.

This drilling went on for sometime; realising that I was loosing my total breath I started pleading with them not to kill me, knowing that I could not survive the military-type of drilling. I thought they were either going to break my neck or shoot me from behind. I could no longer scream and was helpless in the hands of the officers. Lately, a man briskly walked into the room, a seemingly superior officer, who might have saved my life: after a through search I was asked to pay a fine of 150 euro and released; feelings pains all over my body and finding it quite difficult to breath, I took a taxi to hospital, where I was treated and discharged.

On Saturday, 3 December 2005, at 9:15 am, I got back to the Basel Railway Station and went to the information desk to enquire about the address of those officers who had arrested me a day before. On the previous day I had asked one of the officers to furnish me with the names of the officers who arrested me. And was given the following address;

Hauptzollamt Lorrach, Deutsches Zollamt Basel, Reichenbach, ZHS,

HAUSANSCHRIFT Schwarzwaldallee 200, 4058 Basel/SCHWEIZ POSTANSCHRIFT Postfach 1920,79554 Weil am Rhein TEL +497921 161290 FAX +4976211612922 INTERNET www.zoll-d.de

I contacted my office in Geneva, who took the matter up and again reported to the incident to Ghana mission in Geneva.

Isaac Ato Wilson.