Letter
to Mary Bannotti in response to the letter recieved from Mr. Alfred
Hartenbach of the German Federal Ministry of Justice in Berlin.
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Michael
Hickman
135 Torquay Avenue
Durban 4052
South Africa
01.03.04
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Mrs Mary Banotti
President's Mediator for
Transnationally Abducted Children
European Parliament
Rue Wiertz,
1047 Brussels,
Belgium
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Re: Reply from
Alfred Hartenbach of the German Federal Ministry of Justice
Dear Mrs. Banotti,
I have just read the answer that you received from Mr Alfred Hartenbach
of the German Federal Ministry of Justice in reply to your letter of the 10
November 2003 and am very disappointed at his typical reply, I was just carrying
out orders, I was just doing my job, there is nothing that I can do, I can
find nothing wrong etc.
The letter you received shows very clearly that
the German authorities do not ever intending taking the matter seriously
or taking responsibility for their actions or the actions of their citizens.
It shows that they have no intention whatsoever of addressing the problem
in an objective and honest manner to bring about an end to the suffering
of the children and the families involved. It shows very clearly that
they defend at all costs the illegal and immoral actions of German citizens
who take the law into their own hands. It clearly shows that they go out
of their way not to find fault with the German abducting parent even although
the act of child abduction is a criminal act under the German criminal code
§ 235 , which has a maximum sentence of a jail sentence of up to ten
years. ( The authorities actively prosecute foreigners who commit the crime
of child abduction from Germany, more on that at a later date), not to mention
the psychological trauma that the children are routinely put through, that
is fine according to the German authorities, just as long as it is only done
by the German abducting parent. This letter goes to clearly prove that they
go out of their way to find fault on the part of the foreign victim parent,
it shows very clearly that they have no interest whatsoever in addressing
the best interest or well being of the abused and violated children concerned.
I believe that Mr Hartenburg in his letter has deliberately
gone out of his way to misinform you as to actual the situation in Germany.
I can not speak for the others although I know at least two of the other
cases have not been correctly presented to you. I in my own case can prove
to you without any shadow of doubt that what has been presented is a deliberate
perversion of the truth, the facts have been deliberately manipulated and
twisted so as to deliberately give the a totally wrong impression. These
allegations I can conclusively prove in black and white, I have kept good
records of everything. He has also very cleverly defended and justified
the actions of the German abducting parent by leaving out very important
information, information that is well recorded in the official records at
the German Justice Ministry and elsewhere. For instance he has not reported
instances such as the one which occurred on the 23 December 2001, which so
happened to be my birthday. On the afternoon of the 23 December 2001 I happened
to see my youngest son S on the street not far from were I live. I approached
him and took him in my arms, I told him I loved him and asked him if he knew
that it was my birthday. I also wished him a happy Christmas expecting not
to be able to see him again before Christmas. I then walked about one kilometre
together with him and his friend in the direction of where he lived. Immediately
the German abducting parent got to know of what had happened she took S off
to the police station and forced him, as he later told me to make a statement
to the police that I had robbed him of his freedom. Criminal charges were
laid by the German abducting parent against me. A few days later the police
arrived at my home to question me over the issue. (Later after the case
was dropped by the office of the public prosecutor, the attorney of the
German abducting parent made a written letter of complaint to the family
court of Wilhelmshaven in the access and custody case complaining that the
charges against me had been dropped). This incident was reported in writing
to Dr. Horst Heitland and to other participants in the custody and access
case. On Saturday 25.5 02 at about eleven in the morning I was together with
my eldest son J-M and a number of his friends on a public bench near to their
home playing computer games on my laptop computer. The German abducting parent
arrived in her car, she stopped directly in front of us and with the use
of considerable force she violently pushed J-M into the back of her car and
drove of with him. This happened in front of at least thirty people, as it
was market day and we were seated right there (many of which were his friends).
This was reported to Dr. Heitland and the other participants to the custody
and access case in writing. These are only two or many, many incidents where
the children were punished or embarrassed in public before their friends
for having dared to disobeyed the German abducting parent who had forbidden
them to seek contact to me. All this is well documented at the Federal Ministry
of Justice, in the files of the South African Embassy in Berlin , at the
office of the President of South Africa, Mr Thabo Mbeki, the official court
records of the district court of Wilhelmshaven and in my own records. Regardless
of the overwhelming evidence to prove abuse of the children by the German
abducting parent, punishment for making contact to me in the form of house
arrest etc. and that the children had constantly and frequently sought me
out in defiance of the threats of the German abducting parent, although all
this information was made known to all parties including the German Federal
Ministry of Justice, the district court judge ruled that I was not to be
allowed contact to the children for six months. Why?? Why punish the children??
In regards to the so called mediation, that I did not need to pay for,
it simply did not take place, please ask Mr. Hartenbach to provide the evidence.
I do not believe a word of what he reports about judge Carl and his
efforts to mediate, please ask for the proof thereof. My experiences with
Judge Carl indicate quite the contrary, as I have already presented to you
in writing on two occasions. For instance on the 10 November 2002, I had
a telephone conversation with Judge Eberhard Carl, which was overheard by
Mr: Gxxx xxxx, (I switched on the speaker phone for him to overhear
the conversation). Judge Eberhard Carl very clearly indeed said to me
that if I do not stop fighting for what he called “my legal rights” and stop
reporting what is going on in Germany to the press he would himself personally
see to it that I never again have contact to my children. He went on
to say the following in regards to the judgements against Germany by the
European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg “that no German judge will ever
be told what to do by others”. Due to further threatening comments on his
part I called him an "Damn idiot" at which point he slammed the phone down
on me. After his threats against me I went out of my way to make know his
threats against me in writing, copies of many of my communications I sent
to both judge Carl and Dr. Heitland for their information so they must also
be on my file in Berlin. I certainly do not believe that after what he said
and my comments to him, and my defiance of him in not stopping my activities
but in fact exposing him, that judge Carl made efforts to make it possible
for me to gain access to my children. Judge Carl has since then threatened
me again as reported to you in writing. As reported judge Carl threatened
me in front of the French Embassy on the 12 December 2003 because I had
dared to make known his first threat to me on the 10 November 2002.
This second incident was again witnessed by more than one witness, for instance
Mr Dxxx xxxx saw what was going on and came over to lend me assistance,
when he called out to judge Carl, judge Carl ran off down the pavement just
like a handbag thief with Mr. Gxxx xxxx calling after him to stop, saying
that he wanted to speak to him. Then we come to the so called CD which is
used to blame me for the negations breaking down, negotiations that I believe
never took place. I would like you to request a copy of the alledged CD so
that we can together evaluate it, firstly for authenticity then for content.
Following the incident with judge Carl on the 10 November 2002 the German
Federal Ministry of Justice recommend in consultation with the consul of
the South African Embassy to Germany in Berlin an attorney to appeal against
the exclusion of access to my children for six months. At the one and
only meeting we had the attorney made it very clear to me that she did not
want to defend me, that she was only doing so as a favour to judge Carl and
that she felt that I would abuse the contact to my children to abduct them
to South Africa, she even put this in writing to the court. Although I repeatedly
tried to take the matter up with Dr. Heitland he was suddenly not available,
I wrote to him and first sent my letter by email, when I received no reply,
I sent it by fax, I still got no reply, I sent it by post, I still got no
reply, eventually the court made it’s ruling. On the evidence that my own
attorney presented the court ruled against me. Mrs Banotti if this was not
a set up then please tell me what it was? Now when I have taken further legal
action being self represented, the court refers to this ruling to block my
further legal efforts to have access to my children. My latest effort was
to make an urgent application on the 03.04.03 for an interim verdict to regulate
access to my children on the grounds of the danger that alienation presents
to their wellbeing. Close to a year later it has still not been decided.
The children are still having their right s violated by the German court
because their father refuses to bow down to the threats against him by very
senior members of the German Federal Ministry of Justice in Berlin under
the direct direction of Dr. Horst Heitland with his able assistant the child
friendly judge Eberhard Carl. Mr Alfred Hartenbach has very clearly either
been mislead himself or has purposely tried to mislead you as regards to
my case. Mrs Banotti the German family courts simply can not be relied of
to be objective, in the case of the district court of Wilhelmshaven their
current handling of the case resembles a circus.
I have very much more to report all of which I can back up in writing which
I am not going to go into at this moment. The irregularities in regards
to my case are so numerous that it is impossible to go into all of them.
If the German Federal Ministry of Justice is really interested in justice
for all irrespective of race or nationality as laid down in the German Basic
law then they would order a full enquiry into my case. I can however never
see this happening because, if I together with a team of experts should analyse
my court file they would find so many irregularities that they would have
a major scandal and problem on their hands, therefore I believe that they
will never allow such an investigation to take place or the file will have
to one day mysteriously vanish.
In the letter to you from Mr Alfred Hartenbach he suggests a meeting with
you, I very much support such a meeting at which I believe I should also
be present so as to be able to lay my cards on the table together with the
indisputable evidence that I have so that we can get to the bottom of this
matter once and for all.
At the end of the day young children’s lives are being destroyed because
of this power play on behalf of the German Government because they do not
want to admit that they have a problem, because they fully support the criminal
activities of German citizens against their own children and their foreign
national parents without question, just because they are German. Mrs Banotti
this situation can not be allowed to continue unchallenged as both the lives
of young children and entire families are being affected, does no one in
Germany give any weight to the fact that very many people are suffering in
a most dreadful manner because they do not want to address the problem in
a civilised and responsible manner.
If they were in the least bit interested in the best
interests and the wellbeing of the children concerned they could and would
very easily bring about mediation and another methods to bear on the German
abducting and boycotting of access parents to alleviate the situation in
particular for the children concerned. At the moment the German authorities
appear to be more than willing to use every dirty method possible to enflame
and worsen the situation, to force the foreign victim parents to make mistakes
so that they can then say look there look what he or she has done, did we
not tell you so.
Now that I have once again told the truth publicly and have once again
exposed senior members of the German Federal Ministry of Justice in Berlin
I hope that I must not once again expect them to take out their anger and
frustrations against my two innocent children further abusing and violating
them, because their father dared to fight for their “legal rights” as forbidden
by judge Eberhard Carl and have spoken out publicly on the issue. Please
note even Mr Alfred Hartenbach has made comment of my “legal right” since
when is it a crime in a constitutional democracy to demand and fight for
ones legal rights. I certainly hope that I will, not myself have to face
further attempts of intimidate or attempts to rob me of my rights as has
been done so often in the past by German officials. I am certainly seen as
a trouble maker by the German Federal Ministry of Justice and for very good
reason, I am very well informed as you know as to what is going on here,
a very good reason to either discredit me or to get rid of me because I know
to much, can prove too much and refuse to be intimidated by them, which causes
them considerable embarrassment and damage.
Mrs Banotti I believe you need to know the truth, I believe the world needs
to know the truth, I believe the affected children and their victim parents
and grandparents required to be freed of the tremendous injustice and psychological
trauma that is being imposed upon them due to the deliberate failure of
the German Government to be honest on the issue and to do something
to relieve the situation. We therefore urgently need to meet so that we
can look into this problem in detail and so that I can present my indisputable
written evidence to you and to the European Parliament to prove my allegations
against Germany. I have many other comments to make on the report and on
what I know of what is going on in Germany, which I will spare you at this
point in time as I believe I have given you enough to go on.
Dear Mrs. Banotti my children need help, I need help the other children
and parents need help, none of us need Germany to continue to avoid the issue,
they are going to have to admit that there is a problem they are going to
have to assist us instead of always trying to find fault and trying to justify
the actions of German abducting and boycotting of access parents who believe
they do not have to obey the law or any civilised practices. Only yesterday
I had a foreign parent from Dubai phone me and cry on the phone because
he had been so badly treated by the German authorities. ( I will have more
for you on this case in a few days) The German government is not very convincing
in saying they can do nothing, are we to believe that one abducting German
parent who does not respect the law of any other civilised practices can
outwit the mighty German Government machinery. I do not believe this neither
does anyone that I know believe it. The Mighty German Government machinery
is more than capable and willing to intimidate and terrorise the victims
of international child abduction to Germany.
Last but not least I can also put you in contact with a number of other
experts who can also present you with indisputable evidence of how the German
authorities manipulate and distort the facts to present the pretty picture
to the world that they would like the world to see and to believe.
Yours faithfully
Michael Hickman
Albrechtstraße 100
26388 Wilhelmshaven.
cc.
Mr. Pat Cox
Mr. Alfred Hartenbach
Dr. Horst Heitland
Judge Eberhard Carl
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