Suddenly Thomas Fingerhuth slips on his jacket. He was not prepared to continue participating in the negotiation under these conditions. The official defense attorney gets up and leaves.
The second day of the trial lasts only an hour, but District Court President Georgia Marcionelli Gysin has no choice: “We are forced to postpone the trial indefinitely.” She wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and a Merry Christmas, says the President of the Judges’ Office Dorneck-Thierstein to those present. It will be summer before they meet again.
The trial of the men who are charged with killing the mayor of Metzerlen-Mariastein in March 2010 has thus ended for the time being. Ivo Borer was attacked and beaten up in his house. He died of the injuries in the hospital. The perpetrators drove to Leimental in Solothurn with the prospect of looted millions. They only stole a car key and a front door key.
Criticism of the prison conditions of the accused
The two accused have been on trial since Monday. The Solothurn public prosecutor’s office is bringing murder charges against a 41-year-old Dutchman and a 43-year-old Serbian. The trial takes place in a secret location behind closed doors. Media professionals can watch via video. The unusual secrecy is probably related to the internationally active group of jewelery thieves Pink Panthers. A connection between the defendants and this network is suspected.
The lawyer Thomas Fingerhuth is the official defender of the Dutchman. In the past, the man from Zurich has repeatedly appeared as a defender of criminals. Upon request, he explains the reasons after his departure: «In consultation with my client, I refused to continue participating in the process. Responsible is the inhumane treatment of the client in his opinion and the resulting fact that a reasonable defense was no longer possible.
Unclear when the process will continue
“The conditions of detention with which my client is confronted are degrading, injurious to personality and inhumane.” Fingerhuth complains that the client is in a partially glazed cell with no privacy around the clock, where he has to change, sleep and relieve himself while being constantly on display. “For the latter, he has nothing but a hole in the middle of his cell.” He has been working as a criminal defense lawyer for over 20 years, but he has never experienced “such indifference to my client’s health and his rights of defense”.
The attorney’s criticism of the detention conditions must go unrequited. A request from this newspaper for a statement to the Solothurn Office for Prison was not answered with reference to the ongoing proceedings. The public prosecutor of the canton of Solothurn writes that they have taken note of the interruption of the main hearing. “We are now waiting for the court’s decision on how to proceed.”
In Dornach, where the responsible judge’s office in Dorneck-Thierstein is located, there is again great displeasure. In a press release yesterday afternoon it said: “The court very much regrets that the trial could not take place as planned and will inform about the new trial date in due course.” The defense attorney left the hall without permission. A continuation was not possible without him.
With the demolition, many hopes of finally being able to draw a line were thrown overboard. A conclusion to the case is a long way off after more than ten years.
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