Gäfgen v Germany, the Use of Threats and the Punishment of Those Who Ill-treat During Police Questioning: A Reply to Steven Greer

Graffin, Neil (2017). Gäfgen v Germany, the Use of Threats and the Punishment of Those Who Ill-treat During Police Questioning: A Reply to Steven Greer. Human Rights Law Review, 17(4) pp. 681–699.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/hrlr/ngx030

Abstract

This article will look at the question whether it was correct that the police officers in Gäfgen v Germany were treated leniently by the German court for ill-treating the kidnapper and murderer of a boy, because the officers felt that they could have saved him. In doing so, it will evaluate two articles by Professor Steven Greer who has argued that in specific circumstances, such as those in Gäfgen, police officers may be treated leniently for threatening criminal suspects or using other forms of ill-treatment in breach of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In his articles Professor Greer argues that the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights did not take into account the specific circumstances of Gäfgen and failed to explore how the rights of the applicant and the boy were in conflict. This article evaluates the issues which arise in the case through consideration of the conflict of the different rights. It will argue that while there is a case for allowing some mitigating circumstances to be taken into account when sentencing, the police officers should have received a proportionate sanction in accordance with the German Criminal Code.

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