16 September 2011

Meanwhile across the road...

Sometimes it makes a huge difference which side of the road you happen to be. Hamburg's annual consumer fair "Du und Deine Welt" (you and your world) takes place from 24 September to 3 October. This year's main attraction is a "Pirate Special", promising to turn "an entire exhibition hall into a breathtaking pirates' island". We wonder how many of the expected 100,000 visitors to the fair, who take up the invitation to "immerse [themselves] in a pirate's life" realize that the real pirate life takes place within earshot of the spectacle - inside the remand prison cells, on the other side of the road from the showgrounds.

11 September 2011

The expert on everything

A quick court report from 2 September

It was Stieg Hansen, the Norwegian expert's, last day giving evidence. He spoke about what he believed was the definition of a 'pirate'; attacks on commercial fishing vessels versus attacks on illegal fishing boats; he spoke about some of the Somali people charged with piracy that he had interviewed in Somalia; the Somali court system and the arrest of 'pirates' there; he spoke about the clan systems and al-Shabaab and international terrorist lists, and he ended with names of people who have studied the effect of trauma on Somali people. He was an 'expert' on everything.

Twice he was caught out exaggerating.

PARLEZ! Additional performances

PARLEZ!, the theatre play about real and imagined pirates has put on more performances at the Fundus Childrens Theatre in Hamburg. The showings are:
Tuesday, 25 October, 11 am
Wednesday, 26 October, 11 am
Thursday, 27 October, 11 am
Friday, 28 October, 6 pm

Although the performance is primarily aimed at children, this shouldn't stop adults from going...



01 September 2011

Universal jurisdiction, Radbruch's formula and an unexpected stun grenade

Court report of 1 September 2011

Today, only procedural matters were dealt with. First, the presiding judge got into his usual habit of declining another application. Another application for a stay of proceedings had been made on the grounds that a) the court had no jurisdiction over what happened on the Taipan and b) the trial was violating the human rights of the accused.