'‘My son did not kill himself'

2:05pm Thursday 10th March 2005

The mother of a Jewish student from Golders Green who died under mysterious circumstances two years ago is considering taking her case to the European Court of Human Rights, after the German authorities closed down the investigation into her son's death.

Jeremiah Duggan, 22, was run over by three cars on a motorway in Wiesbaden, Germany, on March 27, 2002, three days after attending a meeting of the far-right LaRouche Youth Movement.

He had run out into the road in what was apparently a panicked state one hour after phoning his mother, Erica, of Dunstan Road, to tell her that he was in deep trouble'.

But despite claims from Mrs Duggan that her son had been subjected to psychological terror', the public prosecutor in Wiesbaden, Hannelore Biniok, has refused calls for a full investigation into her son's death.

Mrs Duggan plans to appeal the decision in the European Court of Human Rights unless a dramatic U-turn is made.

"I'm very disappointed," said Mrs Duggan.

"They seem to believe it was still a suicide. I asked the prosecutor how she could know it was a suicide and she said because there was no obvious third-party involvement. But how do you know if you don't investigate? I've gathered witness statements, testimonials and evidence to suggest otherwise."

Jeremiah's death was instantly recorded as a suicide by German police and no formal investigation followed.

A British inquest in 2003 ruled that suicide was not a cause of death.

Ms Biniok said that the findings of the British inquest did not contradict the findings of the German investigations but the difference lay in a different interpretation of the notion of suicide.

Mrs Duggan will now assess her options over the next month before deciding on a course of action.

"We will see if anything happens in the next four weeks, but I'm very prepared to take this to the Court of Human Rights," she said.

To find out more, visit ww.justiceforjeremiah.com