The case against Jérôme Boateng for alleged bodily harm must be heard again. This was decided by the Bavarian Supreme Court. The proceedings will now be referred back to another chamber of the Munich I Regional Court. The process must now be restarted there.
Boateng’s lawyer Leonard Walischewski had previously called for the verdict from last October to be overturned. “The process was shockingly unfair,” he said: “The defendant Boateng was already finally convicted before the appeal process even began.”
Allegations: Attacks on ex-girlfriend on vacation in the Caribbean
At that time, Boateng, now 35 years old, was sentenced in the second instance to a fine of 120 daily rates of 10,000 euros each for assaulting his ex-girlfriend on a Caribbean vacation – a total of 1.2 million euros.
Boateng’s right to a fair trial was violated at the time, criticized Walischewski. “The presiding judge was not neutral, he was not distant,” said the lawyer.
Crucial point: application for bias against the presiding judge
According to the conviction of the responsible Senate, the presiding judge in the appeal proceedings had wrongly rejected a request for bias by the defense. At the time, the chairman himself had decided on his possible bias, which, according to the Senate at the Bavarian Supreme Court, was illegal in this case.
At the time, before the application for bias, the chairman emphasized that further evidence submitted by Boateng and his defense lawyers could have a negative impact on a punishment. Boateng’s lawyer accused the judge of “unprocedural and arbitrary behavior” in his plea on Thursday: “The chairman did not want to clarify.”
In addition, the regional court’s ruling did not sufficiently acknowledge Boateng’s alleged throwing of a drinks bag. According to the Senate, there is also the possibility of Boateng being convicted of “dangerous bodily harm”. During the appeal process, Boateng was only convicted of bodily harm.
According to the Senate, the verdict does not even remotely stand up to legal scrutiny.
Lengthy legal battle will get even longer
The court’s decision makes an already extremely lengthy legal dispute even longer. The Munich District Court had already imposed a higher fine on Boateng in 2021, but the number of daily rates was only half as high – 60 daily rates of 30,000 euros each, a total of 1.8 million euros. Those convicted of more than 90 daily rates are considered to have a criminal record.
Boateng, who played for the German national team and FC Bayern Munich for a long time, was farewelled by his most recent club, the French first division football club Olympique Lyon, in June and is currently without a club.
With material from dpa.