rabble-rousing
“Lateral thinker” icon Bhakdi in court
In court for sedition: Sucharit Bhakdi (M). photo
© Christian Charisius/dpa
He is greeted with applause by his supporters, and he is on trial for incitement to hatred: In the course of the corona pandemic, Bhakdi is said to have incited hatred against Jews.
The trial for hate speech against the doctor and author Sucharit Bhakdi before the district court in Plön in Schleswig-Holstein began with an interruption and the audition of speeches by the accused. At first, the defense failed in its attempt to prevent the indictment from being read out. The lawyers accused the representative of the Attorney General’s Office of serious flaws in the indictment.
After an interruption, the criminal judge decided to continue the trial. There had been no inadmissible anticipation of the assessment of evidence. However, he gave the legal notice that, as things stand at present, the accused statements could no longer be considered criminal.
The Attorney General’s Office accuses Bhakdi of hate speech on two counts. The retired professor of microbiology is considered an icon of the “lateral thinker” movement. In his bestselling books on the pandemic, in interviews and speeches, he repeatedly spread false information about the corona virus. The universities in Mainz and Kiel, where he used to work, have distanced themselves from Bhakdi’s statements.
anti-Semitism
According to the indictment, in April 2021, in connection with fierce criticism of Israel’s vaccination policy, Bhakdi incited hatred towards Jews living in Germany and maliciously despised them as a religious group.
In the early morning, more and more supporters of Bhakdi gathered in front of the courthouse in the county seat. By the time the trial began, more than 300 people had held banners to express their solidarity with the accused. “Whoever tells the truth will be accused,” read among other things. The police deployed around 50 officers, and the judiciary also increased its staff.
An unusual scene took place in the courtroom at the beginning, under the eyes of more than 40 journalists and spectators. A woman dressed in white knelt in front of the accused. Bhakdi, who lives in the district of Plön and had traveled by bicycle, held his hands together in front of his chest, smiled and talked to the woman.