The Disproportionate Weight of German Justice

When the German state stages a massive police apparatus, it rarely does so quietly. On December 7, 2022, a publicized raid swept through the country, placing 74-year-old Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss into custody as the alleged ringleader of a treasonous network. Fast forward nearly forty-five months, and Reuss remains locked behind a glass partition in Frankfurt, waiting for a verdict that seems perpetually out of reach.

How long can a state justify keeping an untried citizen behind bars before pre-trial detention effectively turns into punishment without conviction? Reuss’s defense attorney, Roman von Alvensleben, is now challenging this protracted incarceration by preparing a motion for a formal review of proportionality. Central to the argument is not merely the extraordinary duration of the detention, but the severe impact on Reuss’s daughter, Elena Princess Reuss, who has Down syndrome and depended on him as her primary caregiver.

Before his arrest, Reuss held custody and residency rights over his daughter following his divorce. Since her father's sudden removal, Elena’s condition has deteriorated sharply. According to the defense, she has largely stopped speaking—a dramatic turn for a young woman who previously sang and recorded music. She now suffers from constant anxiety, refuses to sleep alone, and exhibits fear around police vehicles. Cardiological evaluations also reveal that her physical health is declining, with doctors detecting a weakened heart.

The legal rationale for pre-trial detention typically relies on preventing flight or the destruction of evidence. Yet, the defense argues that Reuss’s familial responsibility makes any flight risk improbable. In the days immediately preceding his arrest, Reuss was finalizing the purchase of a forest property with a pond in Thuringia as a birthday gift for his daughter, intending to grant her direct water access for boating.

What makes the Frankfurt court’s rigidity notable is the contrast with parallel proceedings elsewhere. In a sister trial in Stuttgart involving nine defendants, five have already been released from pre-trial custody under strict conditions after judges evaluated the risk of disproportionate incarceration. Four of those releases were granted by the court on its own initiative. Frankfurt, however, maintains total confinement regardless of milder alternatives.

When judicial proceedings drag on indefinitely without a verdict, procedural routine risks replacing the principle of human dignity. The court in Frankfurt must now decide whether adherence to state zeal outweighs the basic constitutional requirement to consider milder measures.

Written by Freya Stensrud freya.stensrud@alpineweekly.com