E/CN.4/1996/72 page 36 Case No. 1995/15 Allegations Place: Darmstadt (Hesse) Date: 18 May 1995 94. It has been reported that on 18 May 1995 the Darmstadt Special Police Unit, carrying guns and wearing masks, entered the Turkish Islamic Centre on Bleichstrasse (Darmstadt) around 5 p.m. where Turkish people had gathered for prayer. It is stated that the police shouted for everyone to lie on the floor while they conducted a search in the Centre for half an hour, causing serious damage there. They are then said to have taken everyone in the Centre to a nearby police station. 95. The Turks are said to have been interrogated for seven hours and subjected to degrading treatment. They are said to have been released without any explanation. 96. The head of the Darmstadt Police stated that the Special Unit members were conducting an operation against drug dealers and that an inquiry would be commenced into the incident. Observations 97. From the point of view of the public prosecution office responsible for the investigation, the facts are as follows: 98. After the criminal investigation department of the Darmstadt Police concluded from its investigations that a drug scene had begun to be established in 1994 and that it began to spread at the beginning of 1995, a special working party was set up in the drugs section at Darmstadt Police Headquarters. Following comprehensive preparatory work, arrests of drug sellers and drug seizures, an order was given for a raid to be conducted on 18 May 1995. Seventy-one people were provisionally arrested in four Turkish restaurants and in an adjacent mosque; afterwards an order was made for 18 people to be taken into remand custody. The restaurants were closed by order of representatives of Darmstadt Regulatory Office. All in all, 1,700 g heroin, 1,000 g cocaine, 1,700 g of so-called "adulterated drugs", 4 firearms and 200 rounds of live ammunition, and several thousand deutsche marks in cash were found and seized. To increase their sales, the principal accused had even used children flown in specially from Turkey to perform negotiating functions and to take part in the selling of drugs. 99. As far as the search of the mosque was concerned, the police officers involved were given instructions to take care that the religious interests of persons visiting the mosque were not violated. The mosque had to be included in the search, which was ordered by a judge, because it could not be ruled out that these premises had also been used as a cover in the drug trafficking. 100. Neither the persons arrested nor those screened were treated in a degrading manner during this raid. All the people arrested were questioned