In the end, everyone seems to be surprised by the verdict: the stone faces of the defendants and their defense lawyers speak volumes, as does the noticeable relief of the woman who sat across from them in the courtroom of the Frankfurt regional court. Week after week, her hope faded that her mother’s death would have legal consequences for the defendants Ramsy A. and Tim G., which she can understand. Finally, she said to her husband: “At least we can tell our children that there is still justice.” For her, that means that the two defendants have to answer for what happened on the A 66 near Hofheim in October 2020 happened: That day, Ramsy A. and Tim G. drove their sports cars from Wiesbaden towards Frankfurt at high speed. There was another man in a green Lamborghini: Habiballah F., also known as Navid F. Because an uninvolved third party, an Opel driver, had changed lanes without signaling or looking in the rear-view mirror Lamborghini made contact and the sports car skidded. He hit the back of a Skoda, which then burst into flames. The driver, the co-plaintiff’s 71-year-old mother, did not survive the fire. One of the central questions of the trial was: Did the three men drive a car race? They themselves had their defense lawyers deny the accusation. The public prosecutor and co-prosecution, however, are convinced of this. In his pleas, the prosecutor demanded a conviction for illegal car racing resulting in death and for hit-and-run. He demanded prison sentences in both cases: for A. of more than four years, for G. of more than two years. “It doesn’t look good for the public prosecutor’s office.” The case against Navid F. has since been separated because he was for did not travel from Iran for the trial. Most recently he had submitted a sick note because of pericarditis. A letter from the German consulate in Iran to the regional court shows that F. probably has no plans to enter the country in the future. He is said to have said that he hated Germany and wanted nothing to do with the country. However, at the end of the almost three-month-long taking of evidence, none of those involved believed that prison sentences were actually announced for the defendants. All requests for evidence that the public prosecutor finally submitted were rejected. Every legal notice given by the chamber left the prosecutor and co-plaintiff with the impression that the court would not follow their convictions. Just a few days before the end of the trial, the prosecutor left the room with the words “It doesn’t look good for the prosecution.” The defense lawyers seemed to see it that way too. Ulrich Endres, one of Ramsy A.’s two lawyers, said in his pleadings: “It doesn’t matter the speed at all, only whether a race was run. And you can’t condemn that, the evidence revealed too much for the defendants.” Sebastian Schölzel, who defended Tim G., accused the public prosecutor of clinging to prejudices. All defense lawyers demanded an acquittal for their clients. A mutual “test of strength” The accusation of banned motor vehicle racing has often been heard in German courts. And with it the questions: When is it a car race – and how far does freedom extend on German motorways? The latter plays a special role in these proceedings. The court found an answer to both in its judgment in this case. The Chamber is convinced that the men drove a car race that day. The judges say: the constant changing of lanes, the change in the order of the cars, the driving style that was not adapted to the traffic situation – all of this is typical of a race. They are convinced that the men tried to reach the highest possible speed. They wanted to prove to each other what they could do in a “test of strength”. 235 kilometers per hour The exact driving style of the defendants was recorded, among other things, in videos that they had recorded themselves. In addition, a number of witnesses in the trial testified that the men drove recklessly. A witness, for example, described how she had to brake hard to avoid hitting Ramsy A.’s car because he had pushed into the lane in front of her. There were no speed limits on parts of the route. “Of course you can still only drive as the traffic allows,” said the chairwoman. According to an expert commissioned by the court to carry out a report, Navid F. was driving around 235 kilometers per hour, Tim G. around 199 kilometers per hour and Ramsy A. around 168 kilometers per hour at the time of the accident.More on the topicThe case was moving for many because it could have affected any driver on the route. Anyone could have sat in the Skoda instead of the woman. But the Opel driver’s mistake, the supposedly small inattention with fatal consequences, could have happened to anyone. “This is a tragic case that also affects the chamber. Especially those who drive cars,” said the presiding judge in the reasons for the verdict. More than four years after the accident, the court finally decided that Ramsy A. was convicted of two counts of endangering road traffic, coercion and hit-and-run for taking part in a prohibited motor vehicle race is imprisoned for two years and five months. The court imposed a one-year suspended sentence on Tim G., also for taking part in a car race and hit-and-run. The verdict is not yet final.
Go to Source