process
BGH decision in the Falk case postponed after the lawyer was shot
The entrepreneur Alexander Falk in the courtroom. photo
© Arne Dedert/dpa
Does the verdict against the Hamburg publisher heir Alexander Falk after a shot at a lawyer endure? Actually, there should be a BGH judgment on this Wednesday.
Contrary to what was planned, it will take some time to decide whether the verdict against the Hamburg publisher heir Alexander Falk after a shot at a lawyer will last. The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in Karlsruhe surprisingly canceled an announcement planned for the afternoon. The press office called “official reasons” – without further details. A new date will be announced “in due course”.
The regional court in Frankfurt am Main had considered it proven that the Internet entrepreneur Falk had commissioned criminals from the red-light district to attack the lawyer, who was preparing a lawsuit worth millions against him in economic proceedings. In July 2020, he was sentenced to four and a half years in prison for inciting dangerous bodily harm.
On the other hand, the 53-year-old went into revision. He had admitted that he had commissioned the alleged accomplices to steal data from the lawyer – and only with that. However, he had denied the charge of inciting the shooting.
The defense had pleaded for acquittal at the time. At the time, prosecutors asked for six years in prison. Falk is at large until a final judgment is reached.
The postponement of the pronouncement of judgment is not the first at the BGH in the case: due to the illness of a member of the Senate, a hearing scheduled for the end of April in Karlsruhe suddenly failed. At the catch-up date at the beginning of July, the top criminal judges in Germany did not show any tendency as to how they would classify the case.
The second criminal senate examines the Frankfurt judgment for legal errors. He can dismiss the appeal, change the judgment or, in the case of major deficiencies, refer it back to the district court for a new hearing.