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Will their smugglers now have to spend a long time behind bars?

Will their smugglers now have to spend a long time behind bars?

  1. ts
  2. Munich
  3. City

Several people had left a freight car over the roof at Trudering station and came too close to the power line © Jens Hartmann for tz

It was a drama at Trudering station: At the end of May 2022, a 15-year-old girl suffered fatal injuries there when she hit the overhead line. Melike A. climbed out of the trailer of a truck on the freight train and came to Munich with people smugglers. They now face a long prison sentence!

Munich – The Munich I Regional Court has been hearing the terrible case since mid-January. It is now due to be concluded at the end of September. The public prosecutor's office is requesting a long prison sentence for Hussein H.: He should be sentenced to a total of ten years and six months in prison, according to the prosecution's plea for bodily harm resulting in death. The defense, however, pleaded for acquittal: Hussein H. could not be proven to have committed the crime.

Death drama in Trudering: Smuggled girl gets caught in overhead line on freight train

Emergency services stood stunned at Trudering station as they investigated the deadly drama at the end of May 2022. Melike A. was traveling with brutal smugglers at the time when she climbed out of her hiding place from the trailer of a truck – in the middle of a freight train. Bitter: There she came into contact with the overhead power line and suffered a severe electric shock. She later succumbed to her injuries.

Hussein H. is now being held accountable for this. According to the prosecution, he is said to have brought more than 600 refugees to Germany illegally. Under the worst conditions! Another man also came into contact with the power line on the train. He was mutilated by the high voltage and is now paralyzed and in a wheelchair.

Police tracked down the perpetrator through WhatsApp messages

The police tracked down the smuggler because they analyzed the cell phones of the twelve people smuggled from Verona who arrived at Trudering station on the day of the fatal accident. This is where they were supposed to get off on May 24, 2022. H.'s code name “Zaza” and his numbers keep cropping up in WhatsApp chats about people smuggling in Europe. A striking detail: H. is missing a little finger. In a WhatsApp video that led to his real name, you can see a man holding a firearm with four fingers.

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According to the Federal Police, the smugglers were “unscrupulous”

The Federal Police were able to clarify the events in 108 of 600 cases. According to them, the smugglers were unscrupulous and did not shy away from smuggling in a heavily pregnant woman shortly before giving birth. The refugees paid up to 10,000 euros for their illegal entry. According to the prosecution, however, their lives were in danger. “None of us wanted to get into the train, it looked dangerous.” “But the smugglers' helpers forced us,” said Melike's mother in court. They had paid 18,000 euros for themselves and their two children. In Trudering, they then had to watch as their daughter and another man burned to death.

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