Germany: The Terrifying Power of Muslim Interpreters

Stefan Frank

"Everything I told you then is true. ... But the interpreter there told me that a faithful woman must not use words like sex and rape. Words like that would dishonor my husband and our family. She also said that I was a blasphemer, because I went to the police. No woman should report her own husband. The husband must be honored." — "Sali" in an apparent suicide note to her lawyer, Alexander Stevens.

"I am aware of statements in which interpreters have pressed and supposedly said to Christians on the way to the police or beforehand: If you complain, you can forget your application for asylum. I often noticed that statements were retracted because Christians were threatened." — Paulus Kurt, Central Committee of Eastern Christians in Germany (ZOCD).

"The interpreters are neither employed by the Federal Agency, nor are they in any way sworn in to the legal system of the Federal Republic of Germany. Ultimately, examination of the asylum application is left solely to these interpreters... In our view, a decision-making process such as this, which is practiced on a massive scale, is not in keeping with due process." — Open letter from employees of Germany's Federal Agency for Migration and Refugees.

Hasan (left), a Yezidi refugee in Germany who was threatened by Muslims, speaks to a reporter from German public television about how a government-employed translator deliberately mistranslated his complaint and took the side of his attackers. (Image source: Bayerischer Rundfunk video screenshot)

Alexander Stevens is a lawyer at a Munich law firm specializing in sexual offenses. In his recent book, Sex in Court, he describes some of his strangest and most shocking cases. One such case raises the question: What do you do when interpreters working for the police and courts lie and manipulate? As no one monitors translators, it is likely that in many instances, the dishonesty of interpreters goes undetected -- Stevens' book chronicles the devastating effects one dishonest interpreter had on a case.

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Stefan Frank, Gatestone Institute, July 22, 2016 at 5:00 am

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