Following up on a motion by victims’ counsel (see our reports of 8 January and 14 January 2014), the court today heard a former partner in crime of a man detained in Poland. The latter states that in 2004, he had provided accused Ralf Wohlleben with a tool to overcome anti-theft devices for VW vans and had received a pistol in exchange.

Since it will not be all that easy to have the witness detained in Poland appear before the court in Munich, the court is now trying to check the plausibility of his statement by first hearing today’s witness as well as another witness who is also a former partner.

The witness heard today did state that his former partner was “looking for a way to come to Germany”. However, he also confirmed several key points in his former partner’s statement. Among others, he stated that they had had the need for a number of guns, that they had continually bought and sometimes sold guns, that they had worked with tools for car theft, and that there had once been some sort of “deal” involving a gun or a technical tool the details of which he had not been privy to. He had thought at the time that a third partner had tried to make a deal with a group of Russion criminals in Thuringia.

The trial day tomorrow was canceled as the witness has called in sick. On Wednesday, the trial day will take place as scheduled.