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Der Fall Lynne Stewart Eine Amerikanische Geschichte Von Martina Groß Co-Produktion DLF/NDR

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Der Fall Lynne Stewart Eine Amerikanische Geschichte Von Martina Groß Co-Produktion DLF/NDR DEUTSCHLANDFUNK Sendung: Hörspiel/Hintergrund Kultur Dienstag, 06.09.2011 Redaktion: Hermann Theißen 19.15 – 20.00 Uhr Der Fall Lynne Stewart Eine amerikanische Geschichte Von Martina Groß Co-Produktion DLF/NDR URHEBERRECHTLICHER HINWEIS Dieses Manuskript ist urheberrechtlich geschützt und darf vom Empfänger ausschließlich zu rein privaten Zwecken genutzt werden. Jede Vervielfältigung, Verbreitung oder sonstige Nutzung, die über den in §§ 45 bis 63 Urheberrechtsgesetz geregelten Umfang hinausgeht, ist unzulässig. Deutschlandradio - Unkorrigiertes Manuskript - 2 Musik Doors: Unknown soldier Einspielung 1: George W. Bush: But we won‘t allow this enemy to win the war by changing our way of live or restricting our freedoms. Justice will be done. Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists. Musik Bill Frisell - Struggle O-Ton 1: Lynne Stewart: I am Lynne Stewart, I am an attorney in New York City. I’ve practiced Criminal Defense Law for over 30 years. In April of 2002 the US government arrested me for aiding materially a terrorist organization based solely upon my representation of Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman who was a convicted terrorist from Egypt. 1. Übersetzerin: Ich bin Lynne Stewart. Über 30 Jahre war ich Strafverteidigerin in New York City. Im April 2002 hat mich die Regierung wegen Unterstützung einer terroristischen Gruppe verhaftet, nur weil ich Scheich Omar Abdel Rahman vertreten habe, einen verurteilten Terroristen aus Ägypten. Musik: Bill Frisell - Struggle Einspielung 3: John Ashcroft: Today's indictment charges four individuals, including Rahman's lawyer, a United States citizen, with aiding Sheik Abdel-Rahman in continuing to direct terrorist activities of the Islamic Group from his prison cell in the United States. 3. Übersetzer: Vier Personen werden heute angeklagt, - auch Rahmans Anwältin, eine US-Bürgerin, Scheich Abdel Rahman geholfen zu haben, aus seiner Gefängniszelle in den USA heraus terroristische Aktivitäten der Islamischen Gruppe zu leiten. Musik: Bill Frisell - Struggle - 3 O-Ton 2: Lynne Stewart: Ahm, the background of this was that the Sheik was charged shortly after World Trade Center I with a plot to blow up New York City landmarks. He was ultimately in 1995 convicted of that plot, of the conspiracy. 1. Übersetzerin: Kurz nach dem ersten Anschlag auf das World Trade Center wurde der Scheich angeklagt. Wegen einer Verschwörung, Bauwerke in New York, in die Luft zu sprengen. Dafür wurde er 1995 verurteilt. Musik: 1 Bill Frisell: Struggle Haussprecher: Der Fall Lynne Stewart Eine amerikanische Geschichte Ein Feature von Martina Groß Erzählerin: Am 9. April 2002 war US-Justizminister John Ashcroft höchstpersönlich nach New York gekommen. Er hatte zu einer Pressekonferenz geladen. Ort: Ground Zero. Fast alle Trümmer waren abgeräumt. Von den Türmen des World Trade Center war nur noch ein riesiger Krater übrig. Im Schutt fand sich ein Teil einer Metallplakette. Bis zum 11. September erinnerte sie an die sechs Opfer des ersten Anschlags auf das World Trade Center 1993. Anders als damals, stand jetzt die ganze Nation unter Schock. Angst beherrschte das Land. Angst vor neuen Anschlägen. Irgendwann. Irgendwo. George W. Bushs War on Terror richtete sich nicht nur gegen den äußeren, sondern auch gegen den inneren Feind. Der Patriot Act, ein fast 400 seitenlanges Gesetzesbündel, vereinfachte die Überwachung aller Bürger. Jeder war jetzt verdächtig. Auch Anwälte. Erst recht Bürgerrechtsanwälte, die wie Lynne Stewart politisch motivierte Mandanten vertraten. 4 Einspielung 4: John Ashcroft. To those who scare peace loving people of phantoms of lost liberty my message is this: Your tactic only aids terrorists. 0’09“ 3. Übersetzer: An jene, die friedensliebende Menschen mit dem Phantom verlorener Freiheit ängstigen, lautet meine Nachricht: Eure Taktik hilft nur Terroristen. Regie: Atmo Erzählerin: New York im April 2011. Ralph Poynter, Lynne Stewarts Ehemann, ist auf dem Weg zu dem Haus, in dem er mit seiner Frau zehn Jahre lang gewohnt hat. O-Ton 5: Ralph Poynter: … but one of the things she says, the American legal system and the whole its woods, racism, sexism, classism, she says, it‘s the best system. And she says, I am going to participate in it and I‘m trying to keep it even. 1. Übersetzter: … sie sagte, trotz des ganzes Krempels, des Rassismus, Sexismus und der Klassenjustiz, das amerikanische Rechtssystem ist immer noch das Beste. Ich will daran beteiligt sein, dass es so bleibt. O-Ton 6: Ralph Poynter: I never met a person with greater empathy than Lynne Stewart. And when anybody asks me, I say she has so much empathy, she even empathizes with white people and I am saying, man, can you imagine that? (lachen) Schlüssel. Auto aus. 1. Übersetzer: Ich kenne niemanden mit mehr Mitgefühl als Lynne Stewart. Sie hat sogar Mitgefühl mit Weißen. Kannst Du Dir das vorstellen?. 5 Erzählerin: Poynter parkt das Auto gegenüber einem kleinen, schmalen zweistöckigen Haus. Neun Jahren ist es her, als FBI-Beamte morgens vor der Tür standen, um Lynne Stewart zu verhaften. Eine Mutter von drei Kindern und mehrfache Großmutter. Damals war sie 63. Eine kleine stämmige Frau, mit grauem Bubikopf, Brille und ausgestattet mit der typischen New Yorker Schlagfertigkeit. In einem Interview erinnerte sie sich 2003 an den 9. April des Vorjahres. Ein Dienstag. O-Ton 3: Lynne Stewart: Ah, I was arrested at my home. I had the cuffs put on me, I was taken by the FBI in a waiting car to a FBI headquarters. I was fingerprinted, photographed. None of the niceties that one would assume with a quote „prominent“ lawyer. And I was pretty prominent, but may be that was the problem. 1. Übersetzerin: Sie haben mir Handschellen angelegt. Draußen wartete ein Auto. Das brachte mich zum FBI-Hauptquartier. Meine Fingerabdrücke wurden abgenommen. Ein Foto gemacht. Keine Nettigkeiten, die man einer prominenten Anwältin zugestehen könnte. Ich war ziemlich bekannt, aber das war vielleicht das Problem. Erzählerin: Noch am selben Abend kam Lynne Stewart gegen Kaution frei. Ebenso der Mitangeklagte und Übersetzer Mohammed Yousry. Der dritte Angeklagte, der Postbote, Anwaltsgehilfe und enge Vertraute des Scheichs Ahmed Sattar blieb in Haft. Entgegen dem Ratschlag vieler Kollegen und Freunde tat Stewart, was sie in politischen Prozessen immer tat: Öffentlichkeit herstellen. Sie lud zu einer Pressekonferenz: O Ton Steward I do think that this will become hopefully a touchstone case as many of my other cases have become. Something that points out the limits that the government can go to in prosecuting people they don‘t like. And we hope that it will stand for that. They have now arrested the lawyer and the interpreter, I mean how much further. Are they 6 gonna arrest the lady that cleans the sheikhs cell? I mean it goes too far. And I think we all have a sense of that. 1. Übersetzerin: Das wird hoffentlich wie viele meiner Fälle ein Prüfstein werden und zeigen, wo die Grenzen der Regierung liegen, Leute anzuklagen, die ihnen nicht gefallen. Wir hoffen auf einen Präzedenzfall. Bis jetzt haben sie die Anwältin und den Übersetzer verhaftet. Ist als nächstes die Frau dran, die in der Zelle des Scheichs putzt? Das geht zu weit. Das wissen wir alle. Musik: Bill Frisell: Struggle Erzählerin: Als Lynne Stewart im April 2002 verhaftet wurde, lag ihr Vergehen zwei Jahre zurück. Im Sommer 2000 hatte sie eine Presseerklärung für ihren Mandanten veröffentlicht, in der Scheich Omar Abdel Rahman die Aufkündigung des Waffenstillstandes der Islamischen Gruppe mit der ägyptischen Regierung forderte. Der blinde Kleriker war das geistige Oberhaupt der fundamentalistischen Islamisten. Mit der Veröffentlichung habe die Anwältin, so die Regierung, gegen spezielle Haftregeln verstoßen. Seit 1997 sollten sogenannte „Special Administrative Measures“ - kurz SAMs - die Kommunikation des Scheichs mit der Außenwelt unterbinden. Lynne Stewart wurde der Kontakt zu ihrem Mandanten untersagt. Musik Bill Frisell: Struggle Ein Jahr später durfte sie ihn wieder besuchen. Was sie nicht wusste, gedeckt durch ein seit 1978 gültiges Gesetz, das die Regierung ermächtigte, Agenten ausländischer Mächte abzuhören, wurden ihre Besuche auf Video aufgezeichnet. Mit diesem Gesetz wurde das Grundrecht auf Vertraulichkeit zwischen Anwalt und Mandant außer Kraft gesetzt. Im Januar 2001 löste George Bush Bill Clinton als Präsident der USA ab. Es folgte der 11. September 2001. Ein halbes Jahr später wurde Lynne Stewart verhaftet. Ihre Anwaltskollegin Martha Rayner: 7 O-Ton 8: Martha Rayner: The crime she was charged with wasn‘t that she had violated Special Administrated Measures that she had actually materially aided terrorism. A very, very serious charge crime in the United States. … I think it sent a message to lawyers who represent people charged with terrorism: Look out! We are watching you. We will watching every move and if there is any miss-step on your part, we are gonna go after you too. And that has a chilling effect on lawyers. 2. Übersetzerin: Das Verbrechen, dessen sie angeklagt wurde, war nicht der Verstoß gegen die speziellen Haftregeln, sondern Beihilfe zum Terrorismus. Eine sehr ernsthafte Anschuldigung in den USA. Das war eine Botschaft an Anwälte, die Leute vertreten, die wegen Terrorismus angeklagt waren. Passt auf! Wir beobachten euch genau. Jeden Schritt und wenn ihr daneben tretet, dann werden wir euch auch verfolgen. Das wirkt und schüchtert Anwälte ein. Erzählerin: Obwohl die Staatsanwaltschaft Lynne Stewart wegen Beihilfe zum Terrorismus anklagte, wurde sie erst zwei Jahre nach ihrem Vergehen verhaftet. Ihr drohten 35 Jahre Gefängnis. Für die konservativen Medien stand fest: Stewart ist eine radikale Linke. Eine Verräterin, die mit Terroristen gemeinsame Sache macht. Eine Feindin der USA. Die Terror-Großmutter aus Brooklyn. Ihre Privatadresse und - Telefonnummer wurden veröffentlicht. Sie erhielt Drohanrufe und -briefe. Auf Youtube kursierte ein Hassvideo. In dem Klima nach dem 11. September kam Unterstützung nur noch von liberalen und Bürgerrechts- Anwälten. Einige sahen in ihr die wahre Patriotin. Eine radikale Verteidigerin der amerikanischen Grundrechte, der Bill of Rights. Der Teil der Verfassung, in dem die Macht der Regierung begrenzt wird.
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