In the doping proceedings against the doctor Mark S. and four co-defendants, the taking of evidence before the Munich Regional Court has been concluded. On Friday, the charges were modified again: at the official request of the public prosecutor, the chamber dropped the proceedings concerning almost 30 offenses. In those cases it was only a matter of taking blood from athletes without the blood being returned to them. The court and the lawyers had agreed on this step in advance.
In addition, judge Marion Tischler announced that the remaining more than 100 individual acts would be bundled by athlete and season. This means that Mark S., for example, is facing a conviction for 24 violations of the anti-doping law as well as dangerous bodily harm. She announced that after a preliminary assessment she does not assume that the offenses were committed in a gang. The co-defendants of S. were also not accomplices, so only convictions for aiding and abetting would come into consideration.
The verdict will be announced on February 15th. Co-defendant Dirk Q. celebrated an initial success on Friday, when his arrest warrant was suspended. The building contractor, for years Mark S.’s most important helper, had been in custody since March 2019 as a result of the doping raid “Operation Aderlass”. There were no strict requirements. “Just relax during the Christmas season,” said Judge Tischler to the 40-year-old, who was then able to leave the courtroom without handcuffs for the first time.
