Sidy and Lassana Dramé are to leave Germany – despite possible appeal against acquittal of perpetrator. The immigration office has already confiscated their passports. Now resistance is forming.
Sidy and Lassana Dramé face deportation from Germany, even though the legal proceedings surrounding their brother Mouhamed’s death are not yet concluded. The Dortmund immigration office will not extend the residence permits of the two men from Senegal, which expired on 31st January 2026. This is confirmed by lawyer Lisa Grüter, who represented the two brothers as joint plaintiffs in the trial before Dortmund Regional Court, to “nd”.
Mouhamed Lamine Dramé was killed on 8th August 2022 during a police operation in Dortmund’s Nordstadt district by five shots from a submachine gun. The refugee from Senegal had been in a psychological crisis. At around 3:30 pm, he went into the courtyard of his youth facility on Missundestrasse in Dortmund with a kitchen knife. An hour later, he was found in this situation by the police who had been called. The operations commander then ordered the deployment of an irritant spray device and a Taser. As “last man standing”, he ordered a police officer to aim the submachine gun. The officer fired when Dramé, who had been pepper-sprayed and tasered, jumped up after the attack.
In December 2024, Dortmund Regional Court acquitted all five accused police officers after a year-long trial. Both the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the joint plaintiffs lodged an appeal with the Federal Court of Justice. The family wants to see all defendants convicted; the prosecutor only the operations commander. Both sides are currently awaiting a decision from the Federal Court of Justice and a possible oral hearing.
The 39-year-old Sidy and 26-year-old Lassana Dramé had come to Dortmund representing the entire family. They see serious failings in the police operation. According to their account, there was no need to use a Taser, pepper spray and finally a submachine gun. Instead, there had been enough time to bring in psychological support, an interpreter or a special operations unit trained in armed deployments. Furthermore, the operations commander’s orders had not been suitable for preventing what was presumably a suicide attempt by Mouhamed Dramé.
In the event of success with their application to the Federal Court of Justice, Sidy and Lassana Dramé also want to join the proceedings. “My clients are entitled to participate in any appeal hearing and have rights to be present and make statements there”, says their lawyer Grüter.
However, the Dortmund immigration office, acting in the name of the Lord Mayor, does not see this as sufficient grounds for extending their stay. It had initially limited the permit retrospectively to 28th October 2025 and confiscated the two brothers’ passports to secure a possible deportation. Sidy and Lassana Dramé successfully filed a lawsuit against this at Gelsenkirchen Administrative Court.
The residence permit was thus valid again until 31st January 2026 – however, the passports were not returned. This restricts the brothers’ freedom of movement in Germany; opening a bank account or concluding other contracts is also made more difficult.
The immigration office states in its decision that “the foreigner’s” intended objective of participating in the appeal proceedings could also be achieved in a reasonable manner from Senegal. Contact with their lawyer would also be possible from abroad, for example by telephone, email and video conference. A new visa could also be applied for for any appeal hearing.
According to supporters, this argument fails to recognise the brothers’ actual role in the political and legal processing of the fatal police shootings. Sidy and Lassana Dramé have participated in well over a dozen events for this purpose, with more planned. The monthly vigils at the scene of the incident on Missundestrasse in Dortmund are also to be continued.
Over the past two years, the brothers have also built a life for themselves in North Rhine-Westphalia, according to an open letter from Welthaus Dortmund e.V., which is supported by a broad alliance from politics, civil society, sport and culture. They successfully attended language courses, volunteered in commemorative work for their brother and are involved in a film production about Mouhamed’s life. In addition, the two have received job offers that only require the immigration office’s approval. But it remains inflexible.
The initial signatories of the open letter entitled “For a Future for Sidy and Lassana Dramé in Our City” include federal and state MPs from the Greens and the Left, writers, and representatives of churches, trade unions, fan projects and lawyers. An online petition is collecting further supporters. It explicitly concerns permanent right to remain and work permits for the independent subsistence of the two Dramés.
Still under discussion is the renaming of a street or square in Dortmund with the name of Mouhamed Dramé. It now needs to be clarified between the city and the district council which location would be suitable, says Hannah Rosenbaum (Greens), district mayor of Dortmund Innenstadt-Nord, to “nd”.
When the Federal Court of Justice will decide on the applications from the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Dramé brothers for admission of the appeal is currently not foreseeable, according to a spokeswoman. “Please feel free to enquire again in some time”, comes the response to an enquiry from “nd”.
Published in German in „nd“.
Image: Sidy and Lassana Dramé are fighting together with lawyer Lisa Grüter for justice for their brother Mouhamed, who was killed by police gunfire (Friedrich Kraft).
