Attorney terms Schwesig as a "Russian darling" and "corrupt" individual.
A legal professional is set to stand trial in Düsseldorf due to allegations of slandering Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's social democratic Minister President, Manuela Schwesig. The district attorney claims that the 56-year-old man sent two emails to the state chancellery and Schwesig's residence in Schwerin, containing the defamatory statements. In the correspondence, the lawyer called the SPD politician "Russiangirlfriend" and "corrupt."
Prosecutors see these remarks as crossing the line from legitimate political opinion expression to criminal defamation. Contrastingly, the lawyer insists that these expressions are protected under the fundamental right of freedom of expression. His defense contends that he didn't target the politician with anonymous public insults on social networks but only criticized her personally via email.
The lawyer even admitted in court that these remarks were not a highlight of his life at the time. In the first email, he rebuked the Minister President for going against the interests of the Federal Republic. Furthermore, he denounced her for supporting "the dictator and mass murderer in Moscow," calling it "disgusting" and "completely unacceptable." The same terms were used in the second email four days later.
Defending the lawyer, his attorney remarked, "Not everything that is tasteless is also criminal." After two hours of testimony, the judge stopped the trial since the lawyer wanted to read a 29-page statement in addition to his defense. Unfortunately, no continuation date could be found for the following three weeks, forcing the court proceedings to be reverted. Currently, a new date remains unannounced.
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The attorney's accusations of Manuela Schwesig as a "Russian darling" and "corrupt" individual in the emails sparked the legal proceedings against the lawyer. Despite the prosecutors viewing these remarks as crossing the line into criminal defamation, the lawyer argues they are protected under the right to freedom of expression.
Source: www.ntv.de
