Hundreds of protesters gather outside Spangdahlem Air Base, on Friday, Oct. 18, 2024, to demand accountability for the death of German national Michael Ovsjannikov, who was fatally stabbed last year. A U.S. airman faced a court-martial for the killing earlier this month but was found not guilty. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)
SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany — Hundreds of people protested the acquittal of a U.S. airman accused of killing Michael Ovsjannikov, expressing disbelief, anger and frustration at what many called a lack of justice and accountability for the death of the beloved martial arts athlete from the nearby town of Wittlich.
“We are scared because if every murderer is set free, the next one will lose all hesitation,” said Katja, who organized the demonstration that shut down the base’s main gate Friday night for hours.
“You can’t just go around killing people without facing consequences, it just can’t work like that,” Katja added, declining to give her last name.
She described Ovsjannikov, 28, as a fighter in the ring but a kind, gentle person outside of it.
For more than two hours under steady rain, demonstrators chanting “Justice for Micha” in English and German pressed up against about 50 German police officers standing between them and the locked base gate.
A man and woman continue to protest in front of Spangdahlem Air Base, on Friday, Oct. 18, 2024, despite heavy rain. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)
A protester at Spangdahlem Air Base on Friday, Oct. 18, 2024, holds up a sign that says, “Justice for Micha,” as German police block the entrance to the base. Michael Ovsjannikov, whose nickname was Micha, was stabbed to death in nearby Wittlich last year. A U.S. military court recently found an American airman charged with the killing not guilty. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)
A protester uses a megaphone to shout in the direction of Spangdahlem Air Base, on Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. Protesters, some carrying torches, gathered in front of the base in the early evening to denounce a court martial ruling earlier this month that found a U.S. airman not guilty of murdering German national Michael Ovsjannikov last year. “Don’t close your eyes. Don’t look away. This is not fair,” the man with the megaphone shouted. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)
A U.S. airman inside Spangdahlem Air Base looks out at protesters who gathered at the main gate Friday, Oct. 18, 2024, to denounce a court-martial ruling that found an American airman at the base not guilty of killing a German man at a fair last year. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)
“Prison for murder;” “Guilty;” “America, give some justice;” “Shame for America;” and “Don’t close your eyes, don’t look away, this is not fair,” were among the other chants and slogans on signs.
From inside the gate, a handful of Security Forces airmen watched silently.
Many in the crowd held lit candles, some of which by the end of the evening were set on the pavement to make a heart symbol and spell out Micha, Ovsjannikov’s nickname.
Protesters spell out “Micha” with candles in front of Spangdahlem Air Base, Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. Protesters gathered at the base to condemn a court-martial ruling earlier this month that found a U.S. airman not guilty of murdering Michael Ovsjannikov, whose nickname was Micha. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)
German police said about 800 protesters turned out in a demonstration they described as peaceful.
The protest came one week after a court-martial jury found Airman 1st Class Grant Harrison not guilty of unpremeditated murder in the stabbing death of Ovsjannikov.
The 26-year-old transient aircraft journeyman with the 726th Air Mobility Squadron was also found not guilty of aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon and obstructing justice.
Military jurors weighed conflicting testimony from witnesses about a confrontation on Aug. 19, 2023, involving Ovsjannikov, Harrison and another Spangdahlem airman from the same squadron, Staff Sgt. Robert Cain II.
Demonstrators on Friday marched about a mile to Spangdahlem’s main gate, parking their cars along a muddy road in a farmer’s field while German police temporarily blocked a portion of the county road that runs adjacent to the base.
“As guests in our host country and neighbors to those in the surrounding community, Spangdahlem Air Base recognizes and respects the rights of individuals to peacefully, safely and lawfully assemble and express their opinions,” base officials said in a statement Friday night.
A sign showing the face of Michael Ovsjannikov with the words “Justice for Micha” on it is held up during a protest at Spangdahlem Air Base, Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. Ovsjannikov, whose nickname was Micha, was fatally stabbed in nearby Wittlich last year. An American airman was accused of the killing, but a U.S. military court found him not guilty earlier this month. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)
The verdict was a shock to the family, said Ovsjannikov’s father, Michael, who has the same name as his son.
“It’s unbelievable,” he said at the protest, incredulous that Harrison could be acquitted despite confessing to the crime.
Lawyers for the defense and government acknowledged during a discussion with the judge at the court-martial that Harrison confessed during initial interviews with investigators.
But the confession was suppressed in an earlier ruling, according to the trial discussion, and the jury was never made aware of it during the proceedings.
“Using a totality of the circumstances analysis required by law, the military judge found the accused’s statement was not voluntary and therefore was not admissible as evidence at trial,” the 52nd Fighter Wing said in a statement Saturday.
The only DNA evidence linking Harrison to the killing was specks of his and the victim’s blood on one of his shoes.
A witness who testified to seeing the fight said it was Cain – and not Harrison – who stabbed Ovsjannikov following what was described as a chance encounter after a night of drinking at Pig Fest, an annual street fair in Wittlich. Ovsjannikov was stabbed four times, the most serious wounds to his back and one side of his abdomen.
The trial verdict cannot be vacated or overturned, Spangdahlem officials said in a statement Friday. The prosecution in military law doesn’t have the right to appeal a not guilty verdict and only the defense can appeal a guilty verdict.
“At this time, charges have not been brought against any additional personnel,” the statement said. “The Air Force will continue to pursue charges in all cases in which the interests of justice, preservation of good order and discipline, and probable cause dictate so doing.”
German and U.S. officials examine criminal cases involving German citizens and U.S. personnel to determine jurisdiction before prosecution. Service members typically get tried under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, while civilians end up in German court, according to a 2023 Army statement.
Protesters at Spangdahlem Air Base on Friday, Oct. 18, 2024, hold up a sign that translates to “Germany, where are you?” after a U.S. military court found an American airman not guilty of killing a German man. Another sign in the background says, “Prison for murder.” (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)
Some at the protest demanded that American service members be tried in German court if accused of breaking German laws.
“When you are living here, you need to conform with the German law,” said Anna-Lena, 22, a friend of Ovsjannikov’s from Wittlich, who declined to give her last name. “They should have a fair trial.”
Katja expressed cautious trust in the American authorities, hoping they will help bring justice to the case.
“We trust that the Americans here are good people — decent people,” she said. “Murderers are not good people. Keep them with you and send us the good ones.”
Marius Schaefer, who said he was Ovsjannikov’s best friend and training partner, said those who knew Micha want German politicians to step forward and publicly acknowledge the injustice of the acquittal.
“Someone has to take responsibility for the mistake that happened,” he said. “The German prosecutor, someone from the German justice minister, I don’t care who. But someone has to take the microphone and say something and say this was a mistake.”
Candles are placed near the entrance of Spangdahlem Air Base, Friday, Oct. 18, 2024, in memory of Michael Ovsjannikov, a German man who was fatally stabbed last year. An American airman was charged with the killing but found not guilty by a U.S. military court. Protesters gathered at the base Friday to denounce the ruling, staying well after dark. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)
