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Human Rights Activist attacked, intimidated and hurt by civil police in Jena

01 February 2003

"Cornelius Yufanyi, member of the refugee and human rights organisation The VOICE Refugee Forum attacked, hurt and arrested by civil police in the early morning hours on Sunday, 26. January 2003 in Jena near the tram station “Phyletisches Museum”.

Mr. Yufanyi and a female friend of his were walking from the Bar Grünowski in Jena to the Afro Center Club when they were stopped by three persons (whose names are known) and then were requested to prove their identity. When Mr. Yufanyi refused to show his papers unless he could make sure that the persons really were police officers ­ as he had had bad experiences with right extremists - the three persons began to attack him physically, to maltreat him and to insult him in a racist manner. Mr. Yufanyi reports that he was hit in the face, squeezed to the ground, handcuffed with his hands on his back and that his throat was being squeezed so tight that he was hardly able to breathe. As a result of the punches he was bleeding in the face.

A passer-by who wanted to intervene was pushed aside by the civil police.

Before his female companion managed to call for help Mr. Yufanyi was being pushed into the car where he was continually brutalised and insulted and was driven to the police station. There he had to bear more ill treatment before he was brought into a cell. Requesting for the two phone calls that were legally due to him he was answered that he had no rights in the prison. Only after strongly insisting he was allowed to make the telephone calls.

In the police station he was forced to undergo a blood-test and a medical interview after which he was released. Even after several days having passed since the incident he has still been suffering from the pains caused by the violence.

Cornelius Yufanyi is 28 years old, comes from Cameroon and has been in Germany and a human rights activist of The VOICE Forum since 1998. He lives with his wife and his 15-year-old daughter in Göttingen. He has been
studying forestry at the Göttingen university since 2001.

For more information see:
http://www.umbruch-bildarchiv.de/video/repression/260103corneliusyufanyi.html
(Interview with Cornelius Yufanyi)

Kontakt:
Osaren Igbinoba, Co-ordination Bureau
The VOICE Refugee Forum Jena
Schillergäßchen 5, 07745 Jena
Tel.: 0049 (0) 3641 ­ 665214
E-Mail:The_ VOICE_Jena@gmx.de

Kontakt: Cornelius Yufanyi: 0170 ­ 87 88 124
The VOICE Africa Forum, Refugee -Human Rights Group, Lange Geismar Str.
73, 37073 Göttingen, Tel.: 0551- 58892 /0551-58894 , Fax: 0551-58898, E
Mail: The_VOICE_Jenaa@gmx.de

Info in Deutsch

"Presseerklärung: Menschenrechtsaktivist in Jena durch Zivilpolizei angegriffen, eingeschüchtert und verletzt
Jena, 30.01.03

Am Sonntag, den 26. Januar 03, in den frühen Morgenstunden wurde Cornelius Yufanyi, Mitglied der Flüchtlings- und Menschenrechtsorganisation The VOICE Refugee Forum, in Jena in der Nähe der Straßenbahnhaltestelle
“Phyletisches Museum” durch Zivilpolizisten angegriffen, verletzt und verhaftet.

Herr Yufanyi und eine Freundin waren unterwegs von der Bar Grünowski in Jena zu dem Club Afro Center, als sie von drei Personen (ihre Namen sind bekannt) aufgehalten und aufgefordert wurden sich auszuweisen. Als Herr Yufanyi sich ­ aufgrund schlechter Erfahrungen mit Rechtsradikalen ­ weigerte, seine Papiere zu zeigen, bevor er sich nicht davon überzeugt hätte, dass es sich bei den Personen tatsächlich um Polizisten handelte, begannen die drei Personen ihn körperlich anzugreifen und zu misshandeln und in rassistischer Weise zu beschimpfen. Herr Yufanyi berichtet, dass er ins Gesicht geschlagen wurde, auf den Boden gepresst, mit Handschellen auf
dem Rücken gefesselt wurde und dass ihm der Hals so stark zugedrückt wurde, dass er kaum noch atmen konnte. Wegen der Schläge ins Gesicht blutete er.

Ein Passant, der intervenieren wollte, wurde von