United States Department of State

“ Authorities may only arrest an individual on the basis of a warrant issued by a competent judicial authority unless the police apprehend a suspect in the act of committing a crime or have strong reason to believe that the individual intends to commit a crime. Authorities generally promptly informed detainees of charges against them. The law entitles detainees to prompt access to an attorney. For all offenses that proceed to trial, the law provides for all accused persons to have access to a lawyer. ”

“ The Basic Law provides citizens the right to change their government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of universal suffrage. ”

“ The law provides for equal treatment of foreign workers, who generally worked in conditions equal to those of citizens; however, such workers faced some wage discrimination. For example, some schools paid foreign teachers less than their citizen counterparts. Employers also often paid lower wages to seasonal workers from Eastern Europe who came to the country on temporary work permits. Employers paid workers from other EU countries the same wages they would receive in their home country, even if the corresponding citizen worker would receive a higher wage. ”

“ The government enforced the law; nevertheless, authorities believed that violence against women was widespread. Organizations that aid victims estimated that one in four to one in five women has been a victim of physical or sexual violence.
Forced marriages are illegal and invalid and may be punished by up to five years' imprisonment. While there were no reliable statistics on the number of forced marriages in the country, evidence indicated that the problem occurred more often in the immigrant Muslim community than in the general population. Forced marriages reportedly often led to violence. ”

“ On September 15, police took another suspect into custody for committing child sexual exploitation.
On July 2, the Verden Regional Court sentenced two local men to 14 years and 12 and one half years respectively for trafficking in persons, forced prostitution, kidnapping and rape. Both must also pay their five female victims 150,000 euros ($211,460) . The victims were German and Bulgarian and all were resident in the country. The culprits lured the women--who had sought jobs as baby sitters, nannies and cleaning personnel--under false pretenses and then used violence to abduct them. ”

“ According to national police criminal statistics, there were 7,511 cases of rape or serious sexual coercion in 2007. The federal government supported numerous projects in conjunction with the states and NGOs to deal with violence against women, both to prevent violence and to give victims greater access to medical care and legal assistance.
The law prohibits violence against women, including spousal abuse; the law may temporarily deny perpetrators access to the household, put them under a restraining order, or in severe cases prosecute them for assault or rape and require them to pay damages. ”

“ The law protects the right to collective bargaining, and the government generally protected this right in practice. Collective bargaining agreements covered approximately 63 percent of the labor force. The law provides for the right to strike for all workers except civil servants (including teachers) and personnel in sensitive or essential positions, such as members of the armed forces. Workers not allowed to strike also had legal recourse through the courts to protect their rights. ”

“ The law provides for the granting of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, and the government has established a system for providing protection to refugees. In practice the government generally provided protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened. ”

“ In 12 of the 16 federal states, there were cooperation agreements between police, state welfare agencies, and NGOs to strengthen the delivery of welfare services to victims. The federal and state governments worked with NGOs and local women's shelters to identify and assist victims of sex and labor trafficking, with the states contributing to funding more than 30 NGO counseling centers for trafficking victims.
The government paid the basic cost of repatriating trafficking victims. The International Organization for Migration administered and facilitated assistance to returning victims. ”

“ Employers generally did not discriminate against women in terms of compensation for equivalent work, although they were underrepresented in well‐paid managerial positions and overrepresented in some lower‐wage occupations. In 2007 women earned an estimated 22 percent less than men for the same work, largely attributable to the fact that more women in the country tended to be part-time workers. ”

“ Law enforcement authorities recorded 689 victims trafficked for sexual exploitation in 2007 compared to 775 in 2006. Most victims (419) were between the ages of 18 and 24; 184 were nationals of the country. Approximately 12 percent were under the age of 18, including 39 citizens. One percent (seven) were under 14 years of age. In 2007 the FCO registered 92 labor trafficking investigations pursuant to Section 233 of the Criminal Code compared to 78 in 2006. Out of 71 suspected traffickers, 40 were men, and 59 percent were not of local citizenship. ”

“ At the local level, professional and trade associations-- self‐governing public corporations with delegates representing both employers and unions--oversee worker safety. The law provides for the right to refuse to perform dangerous or unhealthy work without jeopardy to continued employment. ”

“ The Muslim Coordination Council, a coalition of the four largest Muslim religious organizations in the country, was in the process of registering as a PLC at year's end despite government reservations that the organization represented only 10 to 15 percent of the Muslim population.
The states of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Bremen, Hesse, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Saarland prohibit teachers in public schools, but not civil servants in general, from wearing headscarves. The courts have consistently rejected legal challenges to the prohibition. ”

“ Federal regulations limited the workweek to 48 hours, but collective bargaining agreements may stipulate lower maximums. Contracts that directly or indirectly affected 80 percent of the working population regulate the number of hours of work per week. According to the European Labor Force Survey, an average employee's working week was 30.4 hours for women and 40.9 hours for men in 2007 ”

“ The FCO defines politically motivated crimes as offenses related to the victims' ideology, nationality, ethnicity, race, skin color, religion, worldview, ancestry, sexual orientation, disability status, appearance, or social status. ”

“ Children who are 13 or 14 years of age may do farm work for up to three hours per day or may deliver newspapers for up to two hours per day, while children who are three to 14 years of age may take part in cultural performances under stringent curbs on the kinds of activity, number of hours, and times of day. Abusive child labor was not a serious problem, although violations did occur, mainly in small, often family‐owned, businesses such as pubs, restaurants, and grocery stores. ”

“ If there is evidence that a suspect might flee the country, police may detain that person for up to 24 hours pending a formal charge. To continue holding a detainee, police must bring the detainee before a judge and the court must charge the individual at the latest by the end of the day following the arrest. The court must then issue an arrest warrant stating the grounds for detention ”

“ Permits must be obtained for open‐air public rallies and marches, and state and local officials have authority to deny permits when public safety concerns arise or when the applicant is a prohibited organization. ”

“ On December 16, the Hamburg Higher Regional Court opened proceedings against a 24-year-old Afghan national, who was charged with murdering his 16-year-old sister on May 15 in an honor killing. The defendant stated that his sister had turned away from her family in his view, had been dressed inappropriately in public, and that he believed she had worked as a prostitute. The case was tied to two other pending criminal cases against the defendant for harassment, grievous bodily harm, and battery against his sister. ”

“ Following the 2007 attack on eight Indians in Muegeln, the federal government announced that it would increase funding for programs to combat right‐wing extremism by 5 million euros ($7 million) , in addition to a comparable increase in October 2006.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination
Media and other reports indicated that societal and job‐related discrimination against homosexuals occurred, although such instances were rare. National criminal statistics do not include a category of hate crimes against homosexuals. ”

“ In intelligence‐related cases, such as suspicion of involvement in terrorism, the law permits intelligence services to engage in surveillance activities, such as monitoring telecommunications, without court approval ”

“ Parliamentarians are subject to financial disclosure laws that require them to publish earnings made in outside employment. State prosecutors generally are responsible for investigating corruption cases. ”

“ Elections for seats in the Bundestag were most recently held in 2005; they were considered free and fair. Political parties operate without restriction or outside interference unless they are deemed a threat to the federal constitution. ”

“ Government guidelines were in place for barrier‐free public buildings and for modifications of streets and pedestrian traffic walks to accommodate persons with disabilities. All 16 states have incorporated the federal guidelines into their building codes. ”

“ On September 16, Hamburg police raided 12 apartments, three companies, a bar, and a safe deposit box as part of a nine- month investigation of 14 men they claimed were trafficking underaged boys from Bulgaria to Hamburg for pornography and sexual exploitation. ”