Cannibal wants to halt US movie
2006-01-10 08:26
Berlin - A self-confessed cannibal in Germany is trying to block the release of a United States feature film he claims is based on his case, his lawyer said on Monday, saying the movie could influence proceedings when a retrial starts later this week.
Armin Meiwes, convicted of manslaughter two years ago for killing and eating a man he met on the internet, has sought a temporary injunction from courts in Germany and the United States against the impending release of Butterfly, a Grimm Love Story.
Attorney Harald Ermel said his client believed the film by the US production company Atlantic Streamline "stigmatised" him and could prejudice the new murder trial due to begin on Thursday.
Ermel said Meiwes was particularly upset by a reportedly brutal killing scene in which the victim is stabbed dozens of times in a bloodthirsty frenzy.
Let the truth be told
He described the film, which features German actor Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong) in the role of a cannibal, as a "slavish imitation of Meiwes's criminal case" that nevertheless failed to offer a "truthful depiction".
Ermel said his client was not seeking compensation but rather an accurate portrayal of his story.
Meiwes, 44, was jailed for eight and a half years in January 2004 for manslaughter but was cleared of murder after the court heard the victim had been seeking "the ultimate kick" when he advertised himself on a cannibal website.
But a federal tribunal last April upheld state prosecutors' appeal, calling the verdict too lenient, and ordered a new trial before the regional court in the western city of Frankfurt. Prosecutors are seeking a life sentence.