The Board of Deputies has called on the government to intervene in the case of Jewish student Jeremiah Duggan who died in Germany in mysterious circumstances.
Newly elected Board president Jonathan Arkush has asked Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond to raise the matter with German authorities at a “senior level”.
In 2003, a German court ruled that Mr Duggan had killed himself by running out in front of traffic on a motorway in Wiesbaden.
But last month, that verdict was “totally rejected” by coroner Andrew Walker at an inquest at Barnet’s Coroner’s Court.
Mr Walker ruled that Mr Duggan died as a result of injuries he received in a collision with two cars, but that he may have been at risk from members of the extreme Larouche organisation after he revealed he was Jewish while attending the right-wing group’s conference.
In his letter, Mr Arkush told Mr Hammond: “It is obvious from this verdict and the evidence of six independent British and European experts from the fields of pathology and forensic analysis, that still – twelve years after his death - we have not got to the truth of Jeremiah’s death, which is the least that his family deserves.”
Mr Duggan's mother, Erica, said she welcomed the move.
She said: “I hope the Foreign Secretary takes notice and pushes for the investigation into my son’s death.
“In Germany there still has not been one, and it is because there is no workable complaints procedure.
“The people we have complained to about the handling of the case are the same people who have made mistakes. It is in their interest to cover it up.”
The letter in full:
The Rt Hon Philip Hammond MP
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA
1 June 2015
Dear Foreign Secretary
I write on behalf of the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the family of Jeremiah Duggan, a British student killed in Wiesbaden, Germany, in 2003. The circumstances of his death remain unexplained despite two inquests in the UK and the 2003 investigation in Germany, as well as an on-going reinvestigation.
As you are no doubt aware, the most recent UK inquest concluded on 22nd May, with the coroner rejecting the findings of the original police investigation that Jeremiah Duggan had committed suicide. The North London coroner, Mr Andrew Walker, also said in a narrative verdict that Jeremiah had suffered a number of unexplained injuries prior to his death and also heard from expert witnesses about the extensive psychological abuse that Jeremiah had been subjected to by the extremist right-wing cult, the La Rouche organisation.
It is obvious from this verdict and the evidence of six independent British and European experts from the fields of pathology and forensic analysis, that still – twelve years after his death - we have not got to the truth of Jeremiah’s death, which is the least that his family deserves.
In December 2014, my predecessor wrote to Chancellor Angela Merkel asking her to look at this case as a matter of urgency. In her reply received three months later, she suggested this was a matter only for the Lander authorities. Her response ignored the requests in our letter that the Wiesbaden authorities meet with Ms Duggan’s lawyers, co-operate with the UK Coroner’s investigation, and correctly instigate mutual aid treaties to enable suspects and witnesses to be interviewed and properly investigated.
Meanwhile, the Wiesbaden authorities’ reinvestigation is headed by the same police officer who initially concluded that Jeremiah’s death was suicide.
We are aware that the FCO has raised this issue in the past and we ask that it will continue to be raised firmly and at a senior level so that the Duggan family feel that justice is being pursued to the fullest extent.
The position is highly unsatisfactory and despite the FCO having raised this matter we have seen little progress. I am therefore taking the step of writing to you directly in the hope that you may be in a position to secure a move forward.
Yours sincerely,
Jonathan Arkush
President
