The “Hells Angels” remain banned in Bremen: the Higher Administrative Court (OVG) dismissed the motorcycle club’s complaint against the 2013 ban on Tuesday.
The lawsuit was brought on behalf of the association. However, it no longer existed at the time of the complaint, since it dissolved itself immediately before the ban. The judge decided that the complaint was not admissible. Those who no longer exist cannot complain.
A clear decision, for which the judges did not need a long consultation period. And that noticeably troubled the plaintiff, Andree Pröhl, president of the former Bremen “Hells Angels”. Perplexity after the trial. “Difficult to say now,” said Pröhl. He had to let that sink first. In order to then consult with his lawyer whether they want to try to bring the case to the Federal Administrative Court. The OVG did not allow a revision of the judgment. However, an appeal can be lodged against this decision. If that were successful, the federal judges in Leipzig would have to speak the final word.
Clear decision of the court
On the other hand, joy in the home office, which had issued the ban at the time. “This is a good day for Bremen – our injunction against the criminal association of the Hells Angels has persisted,” said government spokeswoman Rose Gerdts-Schiffler. You will not have to endure trips in Bremen with hundreds of booming motorcycles and no club home for rockers. Of course, those affected do not simply disappear through a ban procedure. “But they lose their presence in public and at the same time lose influence.”
At the end of April 2013, Interior Senator Ulrich Mäurer (SPD) had banned the Bremen branch of the Hells Angels. The purpose and activity of the association ran counter to the criminal laws, it was all about the development of territory and power in the area of organized crime, the reason was. The power struggle with the rival rocker club “Mongols”, which ended in a bloody clash on the street on April 12, posed a particular danger.
Unsubstantiated, inadequate and unlawful for a number of reasons, twelve members of the Hells Angels, now banned in Bremen, opposed this. Among other things, because the club no longer existed at the time of the ban, but dissolved on April 13.
An argument that the plaintiffs now fell on their feet. Basically, there are two variants of association bans, the presiding judge explained. Actually, only the banned association as a whole can complain that it is ultimately a matter of a ban on organization. In this case, however, do not work, since the club had already dissolved. With which variant two could have come into play: Because exceptionally club members can also complain. But only with the argument that the association no longer exists. But that didn’t happen here. The court emphasized that the written pleadings and the entire communication of the parties to the proceedings showed that the twelve members had not sued for themselves but specifically for the association. But that is not permissible: “We just have the wrong lawsuit here.”
Make sure you have subscribed to our Facebook page or Twitter to stay tuned!
Source: Weser Kurier