Political prisoner, complaint lodged with the European Court of Human Rights (EGMR), threat of deportation. Unprecedented opposition from the Berlin prosecution service is to be expected. The lawyer must be based outside Berlin.
Details →The documents for the appeal on points of law (Rechtsbeschwerde) have not been in my possession since 02.09.2026
What this concerns. The time limit for lodging and giving reasons for an appeal on points of law (Rechtsbeschwerde) against the order of the Berlin Regional Court I (Landgericht Berlin I) of 31.07.2026 (595 StVK 68/26 Vollz), served on 11.08.2026, runs until 11.09.2026. Under § 118 Abs. 3 StVollzG, a prisoner without defence counsel may lodge it only by having it recorded by the court registry. The prison must arrange the journey there.
24.08.2026 — handover of consignment RT508494813DE containing the prepared text and challenged order, five days after the delivery established by Deutsche Post. On the same day, a request for an appointment with the registry officer (Urkundsbeamter) was faxed to Heidering prison (JVA Heidering), transmission OK (180_F2, 189_F2).
02.09.2026, 14:45 — a social worker who introduced herself as Ms Mahlow’s substitute took both documents. She said she had been tasked with arranging the appointment with the registry officer at Zossen Local Court (Amtsgericht Zossen), would fax the documents there and return them to me the next day. I understood her name when I heard it; I do not know its correct spelling, so I do not give it.
03. and 04.09.2026 — no return of the documents. The office was locked at the times when I can visit it after work. Staff on duty could say nothing about either the documents’ whereabouts or the reason for the absence. I was not given a transmission report.
07.09.2026 — declaration in lieu of oath (eidesstattliche Versicherung) (200_F2); requests to JVA Heidering via both fax routes (201_F2, 202_F2); inquiry to Zossen Local Court (203_F2); supplements to the Petitions Committee (Petitionsausschuss) and the President of the House of Representatives (Abgeordnetenhaus) (204_F2).
What I do not claim
I do not claim that the documents are deliberately being withheld from me. I know nothing about the reasons for their non-return or the absence. I do not claim a causal link between the non-return and expiry of the time limit.
Status update of 26.09.2026
The question still open at the time of this entry — whether the documents had reached Zossen Local Court — has since been answered: on 09.09.2026 I successfully lodged the appeal on points of law on the record of the registry of Zossen Local Court — see Chronology No. 201 and Annex 210_F2.
Commentary — Dmitry Bagrash’s assessment
Only the effect can be established. Four days before expiry of the time limit, I have neither the text of my appeal on points of law nor the challenged order. They are the same documents whose handover I had to secure through seven submissions in August.
On 12.06.2026 (5 Ws 17/26), the Berlin Higher Regional Court (Kammergericht) decided in my own proceedings: where a remedy can be lodged only on the record of the court registry, the entitlement to a decision without errors in the exercise of discretion becomes an entitlement to an escorted trip out of prison (Ausführung); the prison has no authority to examine in advance whether the remedy is admissible or useful. The same judicial Senate noted that JVA Heidering had rightly decided to grant such escorted trips “immediately” and “unconditionally” in future. I hold to that.
I will publish any statement from the prison or the court in full alongside this account.
Source of the document
Annex 200_F2 — declaration in lieu of oath of 07.09.2026, together with fax packages 201_F2 to 204_F2. Transmission reports will be added later; a transmission report is not proof of service.
Dossier on this matter → · The challenged order · Working material for the court registry