German judge stirs controversy with Ottoman T-shirt

Ali Varlı - BERLIN

Manfred Dauster, 59, posted this photo of himself on Facebook, celebrating his 58th birthday.

A judge presiding over a terror case in Germany has stirred controversy at home by wearing a T-shirt bearing the signature of a 15th century Ottoman sultan.

Manfred Dauster, 58, posted on Facebook a photo of himself celebrating his 58th birthday with a T-shirt that said “Fatih Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror,” referring to the Ottoman conqueror of Istanbul. The Ottoman Turkish writing also bears Sultan Mehmed II’s signature, or tuğra.

On Jan. 19, the judge was accused by German tabloids, as well as German social media, of “being a fan of a Muslim commander as seen in his Arabic T-shirt.” 

Dauster is set to hear a terrorism case centering on Harun P., a 27-year-old German man who has been charged with membership in a “terrorist organization,” murder and incitement to murder during the Syrian conflict. He was accused of joining Junud al-Sham, described as an Islamist group with several hundred fighters in Syria aiming to depose President Bashar al-Assad.

Harun P. traveled to Syria at the end of September 2013 and became a member of the group, which trained and armed him, the prosecutor’s statement said.