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The Stuttgart public prosecutor's office has closed its investigation against the weapons company Carl Walther. It belongs to the Arnsberg Umarex Group - and was suspected of illegal arms deliveries.
Peace activists had reported the company. The complaint accused Carl Walther of illegally delivering pistols to the then civil war country of Colombia. Research by the peace activists had shown that the pistols were used there by the military.
Illegal arms exports by Umarex?
The pistols were the subject of investigations
As the prosecutor announced on Wednesday (27/09/2017), they have stopped their investigation after three years. The weapons came from an approved delivery to the Czech Republic and had come from there on unknown routes to Colombia.
The company Carl Walther - and thus also Umarex - could therefore not be charged with criminal charges.
The case was reported by members of the "Aktion Aufschrei - Stop the Arms Trade". They claim that several hundred Walther P99 and Walther P22 pistols have been delivered to Colombia. Thus, the company had violated the War Weapons Control Act and the Foreign Trade Act.
And it's about homicides. "Anyone who delivers guns like the Walther P99 and Walther P22 to a civil war country like Colombia without a permit, knows that these firearms kill people, even if they do not do it themselves," says Jürgen Grässlin, author of the book. "Network of Death" and one of the spokespersons of the "Action Outcry". "The responsible persons at the company Walther have accepted at least approvingly that with the delivered pistols extrajudicial killings are made in Colombia."
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So the news about these dropped charges were oddly enough not as widely reported as when they were filed, what a mystery that is! (Which is why I just noticed this ten month old article). And it turns out it was just a bunch of re-routed P22's that somehow wound up in Colombia, by way of the Czech Republic.
Peace activists had reported the company. The complaint accused Carl Walther of illegally delivering pistols to the then civil war country of Colombia. Research by the peace activists had shown that the pistols were used there by the military.
Illegal arms exports by Umarex?
The pistols were the subject of investigations
As the prosecutor announced on Wednesday (27/09/2017), they have stopped their investigation after three years. The weapons came from an approved delivery to the Czech Republic and had come from there on unknown routes to Colombia.
The company Carl Walther - and thus also Umarex - could therefore not be charged with criminal charges.
The case was reported by members of the "Aktion Aufschrei - Stop the Arms Trade". They claim that several hundred Walther P99 and Walther P22 pistols have been delivered to Colombia. Thus, the company had violated the War Weapons Control Act and the Foreign Trade Act.
And it's about homicides. "Anyone who delivers guns like the Walther P99 and Walther P22 to a civil war country like Colombia without a permit, knows that these firearms kill people, even if they do not do it themselves," says Jürgen Grässlin, author of the book. "Network of Death" and one of the spokespersons of the "Action Outcry". "The responsible persons at the company Walther have accepted at least approvingly that with the delivered pistols extrajudicial killings are made in Colombia."
----
So the news about these dropped charges were oddly enough not as widely reported as when they were filed, what a mystery that is! (Which is why I just noticed this ten month old article). And it turns out it was just a bunch of re-routed P22's that somehow wound up in Colombia, by way of the Czech Republic.