Margot Overath | Book on the Oury Jalloh case: "Burned in the police cell"

"I have never considered it a certainty since the fire, and I do not consider it a certainty today, that Oury Jalloh himself set the fire, even though this was established by the Magdeburg Regional Court and the Federal Court of Justice, without any objection." This sentence was written by the then Dessau Chief Public Prosecutor Christian Preissner in a memo on March 3, 2015.

Ten years earlier – on January 7, 2005 – Oury Jalloh, a native of Sierra Leone, burned to death in a cell in Dessau's police detention center while handcuffed and bound. Ten years later, the official version prevailed in much of the media: Jalloh had set the fire in the cell himself.

However, the small migrant group of friends and acquaintances of the deceased never accepted this explanation . They organized rallies and demonstrations in Halle and other cities, raised money for independent expert opinions, and thus ensured that the official account was seriously undermined.

Since 2005, there have been few journalists who haven't simply adopted the police version . Among them was broadcast journalist Margot Overath. From the very beginning, she listened to Jalloh's friends and acquaintances and studied the files thoroughly. Early on, she pointed out the numerous contradictions in the official statement – which she now presents comprehensively and expertly in her book.

She begins with the fact that Jalloh's imprisonment was unlawful. She also addresses the alleged lighter used to set the fire – which, however, was not found in the cell. Overath presents the results of various arson tests commissioned by Jalloh's supporters at their own expense. She also shows that even within the judiciary, doubts about the spontaneous combustion theory were raised early on.

Overath also addresses two other people who lost their lives after being taken to the Dessau police station: Hans-Jürgen Rose and Mario Bichtemann . Both died with serious injuries for which no one has been held accountable to date. They were discussed again after public prosecutor Folker Bittmann developed a scenario in 2018 according to which emergency personnel at the Dessau police station may have set the fire themselves – not only to cover up abuse, but also to avoid having to reopen the two other unexplained deaths. However, the public prosecutor's office dropped the case.

Legal recourse in Germany has thus been exhausted. However, the public debate continues – thanks in part to committed journalists like Margot Overath. Overath has received numerous awards for her features on ARD and ZDF. In 2021, she was awarded the German Podcast Prize for her series "Oury Jalloh and the Dead of the Dessau Police Station." She has now published a 281-page book entitled "Burned in the Police Cell" with Metropol Verlag, which documents, with numerous pieces of evidence, how the investigation was systematically obstructed by the state.

But Overath's book is not just meticulous research, it is also a document of courage and civic courage. It was the small migrant group in Dessau, including acquaintances and friends of Oury Jalloh, who tirelessly fought for clarification since January 7, 2005.

Overath describes how the group was not only attacked by neo-Nazis and sections of the population, but also criminalized by the police – yet refused to be intimidated. Jalloh's friend Mouctar Bah played a central role. As a tireless organizer, he established contacts with political groups and was therefore particularly targeted by the police. During a demonstration demanding clarification of Oury Jalloh's death, he was injured by a police officer and had to be hospitalized.

In an afterword, Bah describes how the way he was treated in Dessau has changed in recent years: "This blatant racism persisted until around 2011. A lot has changed since then." Nowadays, he says, he is also treated kindly by the police and authorities when he registers demonstrations and rallies. But Bah also concludes his article with a combative statement: "The family needs an apology. And we, the friends, also need clarification. ... We won't rest until this wish is fulfilled."

Margot Overath: Burned in the Police Cell. The Failed Investigation of Oury Jalloh's Death in the Dessau Police Station, Metropol-Verlag, 281 pp., €22.