The family of this seven-year-old girl who drowned while on a school trip are outraged after four teachers were only handed fines for ‘negligent homicide’ and ‘violating their duty or supervision’.
The public prosecutor has appealed the ruling made by a judge at the district court in Eberswalde, a town on the outskirts of the German capital Berlin in the German state of Brandenburg.
Little Elif was just seven years old when she drowned while on a school trip to Lake Werbellin, also in Brandenburg, in 2016.
Four women were found guilty of ‘negligent homicide’ and ‘violating their duty of supervision’, but the young girl’s family and the public prosecutor are outraged after they were only given fines ranging between EUR 4,000 (GBP 3,400) and EUR 6,300 (GBP 5,400).
Public prosecutor Ricarda Boehme, 42, told German daily Bild: “The penalty is too low.”
She added: “That is why we have appealed.”
She said that the four teachers should have put a limit on the number of children in the water at any given time, adding: “We see a gross violation of the duty of care here.”
The prosecution had demanded a probation prison term of at least 10 months.
The lawyer for the family of the drowned seven-year-old, named as Kerem Tuerker, 37, told the German daily: “We are pleased that the public prosecutor is appealing, but Elif’s mother is also relieved that there is now a guilty verdict, even if the fines are not satisfactory.”
