Themenübersicht: |
Germans on trial over Iraq arms | ||
MANNHEIM, Germany In a case likely to revive uncomfortable questions about Germany's role in supplying Saddam Hussein's war machine, two German businessmen went on trial here Tuesday for illegally selling components to build a long-range cannon to Iraq. The men, Bernd Schompeter and Willi Heinz Ribbeck, are accused of breaking German laws that regulate exports to Iraq as well as UN sanctions imposed on Baghdad after the Gulf War. The German prosecutor, Stephan Morweiser, said the defendants sold industrial drills to a front company in Jordan, from which they were shipped to Iraq for the purpose of building artillery cannons mounted on tanks. "You can use this cannon to shoot nuclear, chemical, or biological ammunition," Morweiser told reporters. If found guilty, the men face up to 15 years in prison - a much stiffer penalty than previous German defendants faced in other Iraqi arms cases. Schompeter, a 59-year-old engineer who ran a trading company in the Middle East, testified that he knew the drills were going to Iraq. But he said he did not know Iraq planned to use them to make weapons. The delivery, made in 1999, was worth about $210,000. Iraq has denied it bought equipment from German firms for large-caliber guns. But the path between Germany and Iraq is well trod, dating back to the 1980s, when German companies were among the most trusted suppliers of components and technology used in Iraqi weapons programs. The breadth of the two countries' commercial ties was underscored last month in Iraq's weapons declaration, which included a list of foreign suppliers. Eighty of the 150 companies listed were German. The vast majority of these deals were made before 1992, the year the German government tightened restrictions on exports of technology with military uses. But some experts contend Germany is still struggling to stanch the flow of equipment that has both civilian and military uses. "They're having enforcement problems," said Kelly Motz, a researcher at the Wisconsin Project for Nuclear Arms Control, a Washington-based organization. "It's hard to completely eradicate procurement networks." The prosecutor laid out a tangled web of transactions involving German and Jordanian companies and an Iraqi-American middleman, through which the two defendants sought to evade export laws. The drills were made by Burgsmueller, a northern German machine tool company where Ribbeck, 53, worked as a marketing manager. He oversaw their sale to a German trading firm, Alriwo, based in Mannheim. From there, the drills were sent to Jordan, before being shipped to their final destination in Iraq. Schompeter, who brokered the deal, said he only became suspicious about the purpose of the 12-meter-long (39-foot-long) drills when they arrived, in very long boxes, at a warehouse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. "I never really knew," he said. "I only guessed." Morweiser, the prosecutor, said he was confident he would obtain a conviction, based on Schompeter's admission that he knew the shipment was bound for Iraq. He also said that other suspects in the deal, potentially more central, had yet to be brought to trial. An American citizen of Iraqi background, Sahib Abd Amir Haddad, is believed to have acted as the middleman between the Germans and Iraqis, handing over the list of items they wanted. Germany is seeking his extradition from Bulgaria, where he was arrested on Nov. 25 after arriving from Turkey. Morweiser said Germany was under pressure to appear vigilant in curbing sales to Iraq, in light of its checkered history. The trial is also drawing intense media attention here, as the German chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder, continues to oppose a possible American-led war against Iraq. "Iraq is at the top of the news, and the prosecutor will want to demonstrate that he is being aggressive," said Michael Rietz, a lawyer who defended other Germans accused of illegally selling matériel to Iraq. Rietz noted previous clients of his, who had been found guilty of selling nuclear technology to Iraq, received jail sentences of only three to five years. But their dealings with Iraq took place before the Gulf War, which prompted Germany to clamp down on its exports. Wearing an open-neck shirt, Schompeter looked ill at ease. His lawyer, Erich Joester, said he needed to persuade the court that his client did not know the real purpose of the drills until it was too late. "That will be the difference between one day or 15 years in jail," he said. MANNHEIM, Germany In a case likely to revive uncomfortable questions about Germany's role in supplying Saddam Hussein's war machine, two German businessmen went on trial here Tuesday for illegally selling components to build a long-range cannon to Iraq. The men, Bernd Schompeter and Willi Heinz Ribbeck, are accused of breaking German laws that regulate exports to Iraq as well as UN sanctions imposed on Baghdad after the Gulf War. The German prosecutor, Stephan Morweiser, said the defendants sold industrial drills to a front company in Jordan, from which they were shipped to Iraq for the purpose of building artillery cannons mounted on tanks. "You can use this cannon to shoot nuclear, chemical, or biological ammunition," Morweiser told reporters. If found guilty, the men face up to 15 years in prison - a much stiffer penalty than previous German defendants faced in other Iraqi arms cases. Schompeter, a 59-year-old engineer who ran a trading company in the Middle East, testified that he knew the drills were going to Iraq. But he said he did not know Iraq planned to use them to make weapons. The delivery, made in 1999, was worth about $210,000. Iraq has denied it bought equipment from German firms for large-caliber guns. But the path between Germany and Iraq is well trod, dating back to the 1980s, when German companies were among the most trusted suppliers of components and technology used in Iraqi weapons programs. The breadth of the two countries' commercial ties was underscored last month in Iraq's weapons declaration, which included a list of foreign suppliers. Eighty of the 150 companies listed were German. The vast majority of these deals were made before 1992, the year the German government tightened restrictions on exports of technology with military uses. But some experts contend Germany is still struggling to stanch the flow of equipment that has both civilian and military uses. "They're having enforcement problems," said Kelly Motz, a researcher at the Wisconsin Project for Nuclear Arms Control, a Washington-based organization. "It's hard to completely eradicate procurement networks." The prosecutor laid out a tangled web of transactions involving German and Jordanian companies and an Iraqi-American middleman, through which the two defendants sought to evade export laws. The drills were made by Burgsmueller, a northern German machine tool company where Ribbeck, 53, worked as a marketing manager. He oversaw their sale to a German trading firm, Alriwo, based in Mannheim. From there, the drills were sent to Jordan, before being shipped to their final destination in Iraq. Schompeter, who brokered the deal, said he only became suspicious about the purpose of the 12-meter-long (39-foot-long) drills when they arrived, in very long boxes, at a warehouse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. "I never really knew," he said. "I only guessed." Morweiser, the prosecutor, said he was confident he would obtain a conviction, based on Schompeter's admission that he knew the shipment was bound for Iraq. He also said that other suspects in the deal, potentially more central, had yet to be brought to trial. An American citizen of Iraqi background, Sahib Abd Amir Haddad, is believed to have acted as the middleman between the Germans and Iraqis, handing over the list of items they wanted. Germany is seeking his extradition from Bulgaria, where he was arrested on Nov. 25 after arriving from Turkey. Morweiser said Germany was under pressure to appear vigilant in curbing sales to Iraq, in light of its checkered history. The trial is also drawing intense media attention here, as the German chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder, continues to oppose a possible American-led war against Iraq. "Iraq is at the top of the news, and the prosecutor will want to demonstrate that he is being aggressive," said Michael Rietz, a lawyer who defended other Germans accused of illegally selling matériel to Iraq. Rietz noted previous clients of his, who had been found guilty of selling nuclear technology to Iraq, received jail sentences of only three to five years. But their dealings with Iraq took place before the Gulf War, which prompted Germany to clamp down on its exports. Wearing an open-neck shirt, Schompeter looked ill at ease. His lawyer, Erich Joester, said he needed to persuade the court that his client did not know the real purpose of the drills until it was too late. "That will be the difference between one day or 15 years in jail," he said. MANNHEIM, Germany In a case likely to revive uncomfortable questions about Germany's role in supplying Saddam Hussein's war machine, two German businessmen went on trial here Tuesday for illegally selling components to build a long-range cannon to Iraq. The men, Bernd Schompeter and Willi Heinz Ribbeck, are accused of breaking German laws that regulate exports to Iraq as well as UN sanctions imposed on Baghdad after the Gulf War. The German prosecutor, Stephan Morweiser, said the defendants sold industrial drills to a front company in Jordan, from which they were shipped to Iraq for the purpose of building artillery cannons mounted on tanks. "You can use this cannon to shoot nuclear, chemical, or biological ammunition," Morweiser told reporters. If found guilty, the men face up to 15 years in prison - a much stiffer penalty than previous German defendants faced in other Iraqi arms cases. Schompeter, a 59-year-old engineer who ran a trading company in the Middle East, testified that he knew the drills were going to Iraq. But he said he did not know Iraq planned to use them to make weapons. The delivery, made in 1999, was worth about $210,000. Iraq has denied it bought equipment from German firms for large-caliber guns. But the path between Germany and Iraq is well trod, dating back to the 1980s, when German companies were among the most trusted suppliers of components and technology used in Iraqi weapons programs. The breadth of the two countries' commercial ties was underscored last month in Iraq's weapons declaration, which included a list of foreign suppliers. Eighty of the 150 companies listed were German. The vast majority of these deals were made before 1992, the year the German government tightened restrictions on exports of technology with military uses. But some experts contend Germany is still struggling to stanch the flow of equipment that has both civilian and military uses. Mark Landler/NYT The New York Times, Wednesday, January 15, 2003 |