Status: 05/05/2023 2:59 p.m
The district court of Göttingen has sentenced the lawyer Reiner Fuellmich for insult and incitement to hatred. The former head of the party “Die Basis” is to pay 2,100 euros.
Reiner Fuellmich used to be a consumer lawyer from Göttingen who was in demand in the media. For several years he has appeared in anti-vaccination circles as a critic of the corona measures. Fuellmich denies the danger of the virus on his Telegram channel. In 2020, the lawyer and his Berlin colleague Viviane Fischer were co-founders of the so-called Corona Committee. In regular online video sessions, critics of the corona measures and opponents of vaccination continue to have their say. After allegations of infidelity, Fischer threw out her former comrade-in-arms in 2022. Her collaboration as the then federal chairman of the small party “Die Basis” was also destroyed.
RKI scientists referred to as “mass murderers”.
When asked, Fuellmich’s defense attorneys declined to comment on their client’s career. The two lawyers have now defended the 65-year-old before the district court in Göttingen. The defendant himself did not appear. The District Court sentenced Fuelmich to three counts of insult. The judge was convinced that the lawyer had insulted scientists from the Robert Koch Institute. In a video by the so-called Corona Committee in March 2021, Fuellmich described the RKI scientists as mass murderers who “are too stupid to tip over a bucket of water.”
“She’s so ugly” – Fuellmich offended journalist
In the summer of 2022, Fuellmich then insulted a journalist from Göttingen twice publicly on the Internet. His defense attorney explained that the journalist had reported incorrectly in the local press in June 2022 about a criminal order against Fuelmich. The penalty order was only issued after the report. This annoyed and frustrated his client. The judge at the district court in Göttingen left that cold. “Even if Mr. Fuellmich was frustrated, there is no justification for publicly insulting someone in such a way,” she said.
“Not Hitler alone” – accusation of hate speech
The penal order in the newspaper report was about sedition. At the time, the district court demanded a fine of 18,000 euros. Fuellmich appealed, so the case had to go to court. It is about a statement by Fuellmich in December 2021. He had spoken to the anti-vaccination organization CHD.TV about atrocities during the Nazi era. Fuellmich said in this connection that it was not Hitler alone who did this. “It was the Anglo-American financial system and many of the American so-called tycoons who, with their background in eugenics, financed it.”
Videos
Baffled because of the Holocaust: translator leaves the hall
Fuellmich had made his statements in English. It should therefore be clarified in court whether the exact wording in the German translation was correct. There were already two translations. However, the court had summoned a third translator to be on the safe side. But when the judge played the video to him, the translator declared himself biased. “Sorry, this is too much for me.” He is Jewish and belongs to the second generation of Holocaust survivors. “I do not do such things.” The translator asked for understanding and left the room again. He had not been informed in advance about the content of the hearing.
District Court: “Actions of the Nazi regime called into question”
Fuellmich’s defense lawyers argued that their client did not want to play down the actions of the Nazi regime. Elsewhere in the video, Fuellmich called Hitler a monster and just wanted to make it clear that it wasn’t just Hitler alone. The judge saw it differently. “The deeds of the Nazi regime are being questioned,” she said clearly, and condemned Fuelmich for incitement to hatred. His lawyers plan to appeal the verdict.
Suspicion of infidelity: public prosecutors are investigating against Fuelmich
Instead of 18,000 euros, Fuellmich would only have to pay 2,100 euros after the verdict. If the district court had estimated a daily rate of 200 euros last year, it is now only 15 euros. Because according to the defenders, Fuellmich is currently penniless. The public prosecutor’s office in Göttingen confiscated his finances, the lawyers said in court. A spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office only confirms that Fuellmich is being investigated. It is about the suspicion of infidelity. The Göttingen lawyer remains in the sights of the judiciary.
Further information
2023-05-05 19:04:22
#Fine #antivaccination #Fuellmich
