Germany's politicized legal system tore my life apart: Falsely convicted ex-inmate

My life was torn apart and my mentally-challenged child was separated from me in an unfair trial by the unjust German legal system, said a former Iranian student activist and businessman falsely convicted of accessory to murder and originally sentenced to life imprisonment in Germany during an interview with Press TV.

The victim of Germany's politicized and biased legal system, Kazem Darabi further recounted the mental and physical abuse he experienced in the more than 15 years he spent in German prisons -- including five years in solitary confinement -- after being falsely accused, without evidence, of aiding perpetrators of a 1992 fatal shooting incident in Berlin.

Darabi emphasized on Press TV's Face to Face news show with Marzieh Hashemi that German prosecutors had accused him of involvement in the so-called Mykonos restaurant assassination attack on a number of anti-Iran Kurdish figures merely for being an active member of Germany's Islamic community and an outspoken supporter of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran.  

According to Darabi, on the day of the incident, he was not even in town, but as a result of a complex scheme by anti-Iranian elements in Germany and German authorities, he was eventually falsely blamed for the shooting incident.

Germany expels two Iranian diplomats in support for terror ringleader

Germany expels two Iranian diplomats after Iran hands down a death sentence to the ringleader of a US-based terrorist group accused of committing terror attacks in the country.

He said every few months prison officials would change his cell which would add to the psychological stress.

"They did this to me about 20 times," he said, adding that in prison he was also being subjected to psychological torture, what is referred to today as "white torture".

Darabi said my courtroom had turned into a political stage for anti-Iran opposition forces as they tried to exploit the situation and take advantage in attempts to use me in a prisoner swap to free their agents in Iran.

The case was then an international diplomatic row between Germany and other European countries against Iran. Ambassadors from several countries and high-level government officials were involved in the court events, he said.

Iran expels two German diplomats over Berlin’s ‘interventionist’ actions

Iran has ordered the expulsion of two German diplomats over interference in the country

In two books, Coffeehouse Painting and Mykonos Phantom, all the events and memories from my time in prison have been gathered.

He said the German justice system claims to be fair and just; however, they unjustly convicted me based on false testimonies by anti-Iran elements, including the deposed ex-Iranian president Abolhassan Banisadr, without having any solid evidence.

"Nobody, not even Banisadr, presented any positive evidence to the court," Darabi insisted.

Also, the German judiciary took my mentally and physically challenged daughter and separated her from the family, illegally and inhumanely handing her over to a German family instead.

Despite urging the German judicial system to show compassion, he has been denied any information about his daughter.

The victim of unfair trial

On September 17, 1992, in Berlin, an event took place that would forever change the life of Kazem Darabi and his family.

After 15 years of legal battles and irreparable psychological damage to him and his family due to the unjust treatment he received, Darabi was finally released and immediately deported to Iran on December 10, 2007.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.ir