20051221

Some Christmas trees shed needles..

Convicts in Berlin cannot decorate their cells with Christmas trees, which could be used to bring drugs as well as festive cheer into prison, a court ruled Monday.

The city's highest legal authority overturned a decision by a lower court, which had granted a prisoner the right to deck out his cell with a tree of "no more than 50 centimetres (19.7 inches) in height (not including the tip)" during the festive season.

This prompted a protest by the prison's director, whose complaint was upheld by the higher body.

"The (director's) complaint correctly points out that the branches and trunk of the tree can easily be hollowed out and sealed with glue, which renders it extremely difficult to prevent the smuggling of drugs in this way," the court said.

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