process
Ex-KSK commander in court after ammunition scandal
The Tübingen Regional Court: Four hearing dates have been scheduled for the ammunition trial until the end of February. photo
© Bernd Weißbrod/dpa
During an ammunition inventory, significant shortages were discovered in the KSK ammunition warehouse in Calw. The public prosecutor’s office is making allegations against a former KSK commander.
Because he is said to have allowed soldiers to return stolen ammunition anonymously, a former commander of the special forces command (KSK) will be held accountable at the Tübingen Regional Court from today.
The public prosecutor’s office accuses Brigadier General Markus Kreitmayr of failing to cooperate in criminal proceedings in accordance with Section 40 of the Military Penalty Act. The prosecution said that the accusation was comparable to the criminal offense of obstruction of justice.
The case
According to the public prosecutor’s office, the background is that during the annual ammunition inventory for 2019, significant shortages were discovered in the KSK ammunition warehouse in Calw. The value of the missing ammunition was around 28,000 euros.
The public prosecutor’s office said the inventory report was known to the brigadier general. The 55-year-old then decided that the soldiers could return ammunition anonymously and with impunity. More ammunition was released than the shortage showed.
The core of the accusation is that the KSK commander at the time should have at least expected that some of the ammunition had been stolen. The anonymous return of the ammunition in spring 2020 made it impossible to prosecute these crimes.
Kreitmayr’s lawyers, Christian Mensching and Bernd Müssig, had stated: “The allegations made against General Kreitmayr in the indictment are factually and legally unfounded; the defense assumes that the indictment will not stand up before the court.” The accusation is not legally viable. Kreitmayr is considered innocent until the proceedings are legally concluded.
Four hearing dates have been scheduled for the trial until the end of February. The German Peace Society and other organizations announced a protest before the trial began.