A young man from Germany has recounted how his life has been turned upside down after a criminal in London misused his identification, leading to multiple convictions that now appear against him in German records.
This erroneous criminal history has plunged the 24-year-old into despair, effectively rendering him persona non grata and preventing him from securing employment in Bonn for the last four years, hindering his professional aspirations and the commencement of his adult life.
Rami Battikh has reached out to the Metropolitan Police in London, urgently pleading with them to address the issue, expressing his feelings of entrapment and helplessness after years of unsuccessful attempts to clear his name.
A British judge has characterized the situation as a “mess,” highlighting how it has marred a German citizen’s record.
Battikh’s ordeal began after a brief vacation in London in 2019, during which he traveled with both his passport and German national ID card. Upon returning home, he discovered that his ID card was either lost or stolen.
At first, he didn’t dwell on the incident, applied for a replacement ID, and two years later successfully completed his vocational training at Vodafone Finance in Bonn.
As a dual national of Germany and Tunisia, Battikh was soon presented with two job offers, one from Vodafone and another from the local tax office.
However, his initial excitement morphed into a surreal nightmare when a routine background check revealed a criminal record linked to him in London.
“I couldn’t believe it. I reassured my employers that it wasn’t true—that it had to be a mistake. I had evidence that I wasn’t in the UK during that period as I was in Tunisia, with passport stamps to validate my claim.”
“Yet they responded that they couldn’t simply take my word over a police report,” Battikh lamented.
His sister Rebecca added, “In Germany, we say that when you’re shocked or scared, your heart drops into your trousers. That’s exactly how he felt.”
The troubles began in March 2021 when another individual appallingly utilized Battikh’s ID to commit various crimes, resulting in an 18-month prison sentence at Wood Green Crown Court in London for several offenses, including driving without a license, fraud, and possessing a false identity document that belonged to someone else.
The wrongful attribution of these offenses was first recognized by a now-retired judge at Wood Green Crown Court after Battikh engaged a solicitor.
Correspondence reviewed by the Guardian reveals that Judge Dodd, the subsequent judge, attempted to persuade the Metropolitan Police to correct the mistake in 2022, labeling it a “mess” that had tarnished the German citizen’s record.
Despite ongoing requests to convince the Met of the inaccuracies in their database, Battikh’s troubles compounded. Fourteen months later, additional crimes were linked to his stolen ID in London, including the possession of a knife in a public space.
Upon learning that his supposed criminal history had expanded, Battikh felt as though his life was effectively over.
“I was in shock; I thought, what’s wrong with the UK? They already confirmed I’m not the criminal and acknowledged my ID was stolen, so why can’t they remove my name from the record? I was genuinely distressed,” he recounted.
Last year, he reached out to the Met, the authority expected to amend criminal records, but his name has yet to be cleared.
“I can’t keep living like this, indefinitely waiting for a criminal record to be rectified. It’s unfathomable that this has been going on for six months without resolution.
“If you were in my situation, feeling trapped and powerless due to circumstances outside your control, how would you feel? I am at my wit’s end,” he expressed.
At just 24, he faces unemployment, has had to sell his car to pay bills, and is sharing his story out of desperation for guidance.
In April 2024, he wrote to Wood Green Crown Court, the only institution he believes is taking him seriously in England, offering to provide DNA or fingerprints, already collected by German police, to aid in clearing his name through Interpol.
“This fraud is ruining my life. I am unable to find work. If necessary, I’ll provide fingerprints or a hair sample… I can’t endure this situation any longer. I am innocent; I have never committed any of these acts. I urgently request assistance,” he pleaded in his letter to the court.
The Metropolitan Police stated, “We are aware of this case and are collaborating with other agencies to resolve the situation. We understand that the duration of this process has contributed to the distress, and we aim to provide the applicant with an update soon.”
The post Headline: Innocent German Citizen Trapped in Kafkaesque Legal Nightmare After Criminal Uses Stolen ID first appeared on London.
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Author : London News
Publish date : 2025-03-24 08:02:00
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