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Germany: Taxi drivers sentenced

01 January 1998

Since spring 1997, taxi drivers in Saxony, the border region with Poland and the Czech Republic, have been prosecuted for allegedly supporting illegal immigration (see Statewatch vol 7 no 4). Twenty-two taxi drivers are facing prison sentences of up to 6, or even 10, years if the court believe that they are part of an organised network. In the first cases taxi drivers have been sentenced to between twenty-two months and two and a half years. Appeals have so far been unsuccessful. Convictions are based solely on circumstantial evidence and on statements by one taxi driver who, under the Crown witness scheme, offered information in exchange for a lenient sentence - it was suspended. While the court does not question the crown witness' credibility, trial observers question the court's faith in a witness who avoided a prison sentence by informing on colleagues. The Crown witness has told the police about alleged cooperation between taxi drivers in the border region and Polish trafficking organisations.

The strict prosecution of taxi drivers is intended to serve as a deterrent to non-cooperative groups in the community and create a network of informers for the border police. One result of the prosecution of the taxi drivers is that no non-German looking person can get a taxi in the border region. Other initiatives include a citizens' phoneline and voluntary border police patrols. The border police estimate that over 50% of arrests of illegal immigrants are due to information received; other police estimates are up to 70 to 80%. In the long term, this campaign of will not only be directed against taxi drivers but also other professional groups such as doctors, clergy, political support organisations or German partners of bi-national marriages.

Forschungsgesellschaft Flucht und Migration, Berlin.