THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
The suicide of a 15-year-old Black boy in a German juvenile detention centre has sparked fierce debates about racism, violence and systemic neglect within the country’s justice system. The incident, which occurred on 1 August at the Justizvollzugsanstalt (JVA) Ottweiler in Saarland, has drawn parallels to past cases of Black people dying in state custody, raising urgent questions about institutional racism and accountability.
The boy, whose full name has not been publicly released, was found dead in his cell. The state’s prosecutor in Saarbrücken has announced that the post-mortem examination found no signs of third-party violence or external injuries, apparently ruling out direct physical harm.
However, fellow inmates have made serious accusations, claiming the boy, identified as Nelson in a press release issued by a Germany’s leading Black organisation, had been physically assaulted — beaten and kicked — by a prison staff shortly before his death, accusations that triggered protests inside the facility. Seventeen detainees subsequently refused to return to their cells, necessitating police intervention.
Activists and advocacy groups have dismissed the state prosecutor’s findings of “no signs of external injuries” as insufficient. The Initiative Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland (ISD), the Black organization, has released a scathing statement declaring Nelson’s death “not an isolated tragedy but part of a deadly system shaped by structural racism.”
Nelson’s case echoes a grim pattern in Germany, the organisation said. Between 1990 and 2022, ISD documented at least 203 deaths in police or judicial custody, with Black people and migrants disproportionately affected.
“In recent years, the number of people killed in custody or following police interventions has grown. Cases like Amin Farah (2022), Mouhamed Lamine Dramé (2022), Kupa Ilunga Medard Mutombo (2022), Lamin Touray (2024), and Lorenz A. (2025) prove that Black people, people of color, and migrants are particularly vulnerable,” the ISD said.
Critics argue that Germany’s lack of a mandatory nationwide reporting system for custody-related deaths enables systemic impunity.
At a special session of the justice committee of Saarland’s parliament on Tuesday, Justice Minister Petra Berg (SPD) pledged a “full and transparent investigation,” but opposition lawmakers and activists remain skeptical. The Greens and Left Party have called for sweeping prison reforms, including better mental health support and suicide prevention measures.
A crowdfunding campaign titled “Justice for Nelson” has amplified demands for accountability:
“How does a 15-year-old Black boy become so desperate that he sees no way out but death? What kind of racist violence was Nelson subjected to?” The ISD’s demands include an independent public inquiry, mandatory federal reporting of custody deaths and an end to racial profiling.
Austin Ohaegbu
