André Bamberski: thirty years of waiting, 1982–2009

    by tintin_du_93

    3 Comments

    1. TW: rape of a minor and related issues  

      The case begins in 1982 in Germany, when 14-year-old Kalinka is found dead at the home of her stepfather, Dr. Dieter Krombach (and let’s be honest, when there’s a German doctor involved, you know it stinks 🥸). The autopsy is about as professional as the Imperium is democratic: unexplained signs, the teenager’s vagina *somehow disappears* (apparently off on strike with the CGT), but no clear cause of death is established. André Bamberski, Kalinka’s father, refuses to let go. He suspects foul play but runs into the brick wall of German justice (walls being a German specialty), which ends up shelving the case in 1987.  

      But Bamberski is French, and therefore stubborn. After years of legal battles, he manages to get Krombach convicted in absentia in France for “assault and battery leading to death without intent to kill.” The problem? Germany doesn’t care. They refuse to extradite him, since Krombach had already been cleared there. In 2009, after nearly thirty years, André and some very determined friends kidnap Krombach in Germany, dump him in a French alley, and then call the police to let them know Krombach is suddenly in France. In 2011, Krombach is finally tried and sentenced to 15 years in prison, while Bamberski receives a one-year suspended sentence for the abduction.  

      The case is significant because it raised tough questions about international legal cooperation. Over the years, more revelations emerged about Krombach’s past: several women accused him of sexual assault. During Bamberski’s own abduction trial, his lawyer even referenced a legal and philosophical idea of “higher morality,” the notion that an illegal act can be legitimate if morality demands it.  

      [source : French podcast ](https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceinter/podcasts/affaires-sensibles/affaires-sensibles-du-lundi-15-avril-2024-1789352?at_medium=Adwords&at_campaign=france_inter_search_dynamic_podcasts&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=17432933951&gbraid=0AAAAACne0eoC74sbgYvMUcFTKRdmMXcFK&gclid=Cj0KCQjwrc7GBhCfARIsAHGcW5U46TO_DlUS0JQ9l9Z0pQcEax6Y7crHR-sEx8cKEY0xr35FvPGIP0waAtZTEALw_wcB)
      I’m sorry, the only sources I have are a French podcast and the interview with the father, but in French

      Similar cases echo this theme. In 1981, Marianne Bachmeier, during the trial of Klaus Grabowski in Lübeck, pulled out a pistol and shot the man who had murdered her daughter Anna. In 1984 in the US, a man shot dead Jeff Doucet, who had kidnapped and raped his son Jody, inside an airport,  in front of police officers and live TV cameras.  

    2. Fast_Maintenance_159 on

      That’s based, he really pulled a batman on him, didn’t kill him just dragged him to a country where the courts did their job

    3. King_Crab_Sushi on

      Obligatory reminder that he wasn’t extradited because the German court found him not guilty in the case of rape and murder but because the French court refused to hear his legal defence. Even though it was in accordance with French law since he refused to show up it wasnt a valid trial according to German law which made his extradition illegal.

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