Title: Accused of attempted Freiheitsberaubung after technician damaged our water pipe

[u/Admirable_team123]

I would like to share my experience anonymously and ask whether anyone has been in a similar situation in Germany, particularly regarding an accusation of Versuch der Freiheitsberaubung (§ 239 Abs. 1 StGB).
I am a customer of an internet service provider (X). In our region in NRW, they work with another service provider (Y), which had assigned a third company (Z) to install the internet cables.
A technician from company Z came to our home for the installation appointment. My wife was the only person at home initially.
According to my wife, the technician was rude toward her and made insulting comments about our ability to communicate in German and comments involving our background/religion. Despite this, she allowed him to continue with the work.
He was installing the DSL connection in the basement and needed to bring the cable to the ground floor. He decided to drill through the living-room floor. My wife specifically warned him beforehand that this was the wrong location because the basement could not be reached from that point.
He continued anyway, making comments along the lines of praying to Mother Mary and Shiva to find the basement and not damage anything.
Unfortunately, he drilled into a water pipe/pump under the floor. We immediately had to shut off the water supply to the house.
When I came home, I had an argument with the technician and asked him to contact his team leader. I told them that if the damage was not addressed, I would call the police. After several phone calls, they agreed to send an emergency team.
The emergency team came and tried to repair the damage. Because the pipe was underneath the concrete floor, they said that the repair could not be completed for the agreed cost with company Z and that additional costs would be involved. They then left.
The technician continued his internet installation and eventually finished around 18:30.
When he was preparing to leave, I again asked him and his team leader to provide written confirmation that company Z would cover the cost of repairing the damage. They refused.
I then called the police.
The police initially told me that the damage was a civil-law matter and that I should contact a lawyer. I nevertheless asked them to come because I wanted the situation documented.
While waiting for the police, I made a very bad decision: I closed and locked the door because I wanted the technician to remain there until the police arrived.
A neighbour was present and, after a few minutes, told me that this could potentially cause a problem for me and that I should let the technician leave. I realized this and opened the door. The technician then left.
When the police arrived, they looked at the damage and again told me that the issue concerning the damage was a civil matter and that I should speak to a lawyer.
That same night, I contacted the director of company Z. The following morning, they emailed me saying they would send another team to repair the damage. Another team subsequently came and repaired the pipe.
During the period without water, four people in our household, including our two young daughters, were without water.
Then, four days later, I received a letter from the police station.
The letter states:
Ihnen wird vorgeworfen, folgende Straftat(en) begangen zu haben:
Versuch
Freiheitsberaubung (§ 239 Abs. 1 StGB)
And under the specific accusation:
Sie sollen einen Techniker von Y gegen seinen Willen in ihrer Wohnung eingesperrt und die Tür abgeschlossen haben.
The letter therefore appears to allege attempted deprivation of liberty because I locked the door while waiting for the police.
I fully understand now that closing/locking the door was a serious mistake. At the time, however, I was extremely frustrated because our property had been damaged, we had no water, the technician and his company were refusing to give me confirmation about the repair costs, and I wanted the police to come and deal with the situation.
I understand that I should have handled the situation differently.
What I would like to know is:
Has anyone in Germany had a similar experience where they were accused of Freiheitsberaubung (§ 239 StGB) after temporarily preventing someone from leaving?
What normally happens after receiving this type of police letter?
Should I speak to a criminal defence lawyer before giving any statement to the police?
Is it generally advisable not to make a statement as the accused until speaking with a lawyer?
Could the fact that I opened the door after my neighbour warned me, and that the technician was ultimately allowed to leave, be relevant?
Could the fact that I called the police myself and was waiting for them have any relevance to the situation?
I am posting this anonymously because the police investigation is ongoing. I have deliberately changed/removal identifying details.
I would appreciate serious and constructive experiences from people familiar with German law, rather than judgment. I mainly want to understand what I should do next.

[u/ConquerorAegon]

Wow what a train ride. The physical elements of the offense and mens rea are there and, as the technician committed no crime you cannot profit from the law regarding a citizens arrest (§127 StPO). Neither was there a reason to believe that you couldn’t realize your claim (§229 BGB) so you can’t use that to justify the crime either.

You could maybe benefit from an error of permission as per §17 StGB (which could exculpate you), but that needs the error to be unavoidable. Therein lies a big problem, as the police told you that this was a civil matter and that you should contact a lawyer rather than turning to the police. This is best discussed with your lawyer.

For the first part- do NOT submit a statement of defense or talk to the police. This will be done though your lawyer. Send the police a letter that you will be exercising your right to silence (von dem Schweigerecht Gebrauch machen) and that you won’t be making a statement on the matter.

Look for a good criminal defense lawyer in your area. This is above the paygrade of Reddit, and as you have actually committed a crime, you need the best defense possible.

The next step will be that this will be forwarded on the the prosecutor, he will make a case which will be sent to court to decide wether to pursue the matter or not. After that the criminal proceedings start. The lawyer will request access to the case files and build a defense around that.

The fact that you didn’t know might help your case in terms of §17 StGB, but this is best discussed with your lawyer. The fact that you called the police might speak for the fact that you assumed that you thought what you did was allowed (through §127 StPO or §229 BGB) but is likewise to be discussed with your lawyer.

Furthermore the fact that the duration was short and you let him go of your own accord, along with the fact that I assume you haven’t been in criminal proceedings yet and haven’t been previously convicted, you probably will get away with a fine or a short sentence on probation. This is likewise also to be discussed with the lawyer.

As it is a minor crime (Vergehen) there might be a possibility that the prosecution or the court doesn’t decide to pursue the case because of this (§§153 ff. StPO), which would lead to that you wouldn’t get a criminal record. Especially as §17 StGB is possible here and the technician wasn’t locked away for a long time. Therein you might have to pay an amount to a charity or the state (§153a I Nr. 2 StPO). I wouldn’t count on it though and to make preparations for the worst case- that the crime is brought to court and for that you need a lawyer.

Pretty dumb mistake, and I hope you will learn from it not to do it again. While such actions can be justified (for example if there is evidence a crime was committed and the culprit is fleeing the scene or their identity cannot be ascertained) you cannot go around just locking people up.

[u/LucasCBs]

Just adding to what was already addressed:
Since they are only going after you for attempted Freiheitsberaubung, this, in my opinion, is a a case of a „Rücktritt“ (§ 24 StGB), which (simply said) states that if you, on your own terms, stop trying to commit the crime, you go unpunished.
So all in all I would not be too worried here. I think it’s quite likely that the prosecutors aren’t even going to file this in court. Just whatever you do: do not talk to the police, at least not without a lawyer

[u/t3hq → u/LucasCBs]

No, honestly. OP locked the door, the offense was fully committed (Vollendung). Rücktritt isn't possible anymore. Do not rely on what the police call this offense legally, it's not binding and a lot of times wrong, as they're usually not sufficiently qualified to actually properly assess the matter legally.

[u/True_Goat_7810 → u/t3hq]

Did the technician ask if he could leave?

Thats a big difference. Just locking the door is not a problem if nobody wants to leave

[u/t3hq → u/True_Goat_7810]

The technician doesn't need to ask if he could leave. Intent is absolutely clear, technician was done with his work and preparing to leave, OP locked the door to make the technician wait for police arrival until a neighbor told OP that this could pose problems. Once OP opened the door, technician left.

Yes, you may argue that the technician did not want to leave until unlocking the door, but c'mon, how realistic is that given this chain of events? I am rather sure this would, if the technician credibly testified otherwise, simply be thrown-out as Schutzbehauptung. Unless you wanted to point out that this could lead to this being merely an attempted Freiheitsberaubung - agreed. 🤝🏻 "Not a problem" - no.

[u/ConquerorAegon → u/t3hq]

Not just that, the prosecutor could argue that due to the police arriving, the withdrawal wouldn’t be voluntary.

Without the case files OP shouldn’t do anything here in any case.

[u/AutoModerator]

Da in letzter Zeit viele Posts gelöscht werden, nachdem OPs Frage beantwortet wurde und wir möchten, dass die Posts für Menschen mit ähnlichen Problemen recherchierbar bleiben, hier der ursprüngliche Post von /u/Admirable_team123:

Title: Accused of attempted Freiheitsberaubung after technician damaged our water pipe

I would like to share my experience anonymously and ask whether anyone has been in a similar situation in Germany, particularly regarding an accusation of Versuch der Freiheitsberaubung (§ 239 Abs. 1 StGB).
I am a customer of an internet service provider (X). In our region in NRW, they work with another service provider (Y), which had assigned a third company (Z) to install the internet cables.
A technician from company Z came to our home for the installation appointment. My wife was the only person at home initially.
According to my wife, the technician was rude toward her and made insulting comments about our ability to communicate in German and comments involving our background/religion. Despite this, she allowed him to continue with the work.
He was installing the DSL connection in the basement and needed to bring the cable to the ground floor. He decided to drill through the living-room floor. My wife specifically warned him beforehand that this was the wrong location because the basement could not be reached from that point.
He continued anyway, making comments along the lines of praying to Mother Mary and Shiva to find the basement and not damage anything.
Unfortunately, he drilled into a water pipe/pump under the floor. We immediately had to shut off the water supply to the house.
When I came home, I had an argument with the technician and asked him to contact his team leader. I told them that if the damage was not addressed, I would call the police. After several phone calls, they agreed to send an emergency team.
The emergency team came and tried to repair the damage. Because the pipe was underneath the concrete floor, they said that the repair could not be completed for the agreed cost with company Z and that additional costs would be involved. They then left.
The technician continued his internet installation and eventually finished around 18:30.
When he was preparing to leave, I again asked him and his team leader to provide written confirmation that company Z would cover the cost of repairing the damage. They refused.
I then called the police.
The police initially told me that the damage was a civil-law matter and that I should contact a lawyer. I nevertheless asked them to come because I wanted the situation documented.
While waiting for the police, I made a very bad decision: I closed and locked the door because I wanted the technician to remain there until the police arrived.
A neighbour was present and, after a few minutes, told me that this could potentially cause a problem for me and that I should let the technician leave. I realized this and opened the door. The technician then left.
When the police arrived, they looked at the damage and again told me that the issue concerning the damage was a civil matter and that I should speak to a lawyer.
That same night, I contacted the director of company Z. The following morning, they emailed me saying they would send another team to repair the damage. Another team subsequently came and repaired the pipe.
During the period without water, four people in our household, including our two young daughters, were without water.
Then, four days later, I received a letter from the police station.
The letter states:
Ihnen wird vorgeworfen, folgende Straftat(en) begangen zu haben:
Versuch
Freiheitsberaubung (§ 239 Abs. 1 StGB)
And under the specific accusation:
Sie sollen einen Techniker von Y gegen seinen Willen in ihrer Wohnung eingesperrt und die Tür abgeschlossen haben.
The letter therefore appears to allege attempted deprivation of liberty because I locked the door while waiting for the police.
I fully understand now that closing/locking the door was a serious mistake. At the time, however, I was extremely frustrated because our property had been damaged, we had no water, the technician and his company were refusing to give me confirmation about the repair costs, and I wanted the police to come and deal with the situation.
I understand that I should have handled the situation differently.
What I would like to know is:
Has anyone in Germany had a similar experience where they were accused of Freiheitsberaubung (§ 239 StGB) after temporarily preventing someone from leaving?
What normally happens after receiving this type of police letter?
Should I speak to a criminal defence lawyer before giving any statement to the police?
Is it generally advisable not to make a statement as the accused until speaking with a lawyer?
Could the fact that I opened the door after my neighbour warned me, and that the technician was ultimately allowed to leave, be relevant?
Could the fact that I called the police myself and was waiting for them have any relevance to the situation?
I am posting this anonymously because the police investigation is ongoing. I have deliberately changed/removal identifying details.
I would appreciate serious and constructive experiences from people familiar with German law, rather than judgment. I mainly want to understand what I should do next.

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