Kida Khodr Ramadan can't avoid prison
Actor and director Kida Khodr Ramadan is to be sent to prison due to multiple traffic offenses. A spokesperson for the Berlin State Prosecutor confirmed this on request, stating that Ramadan had been summoned "for immediate execution of the sentence within fourteen days." Ramadan was sentenced to ten months in prison in Berlin in February 2022 for traffic violations - initially on probation. This was later revoked. Ramadan was served a warrant to begin serving his sentence earlier this year. He resisted with various means - unsuccessfully.
The spokesperson for the Berlin State Prosecutor could not say when Ramadan would report to prison. The background to the sentencing were 33 cases in which Ramadan was caught driving without a valid license. Ramadan's lawyer, Kai Walden, has been representing him for several months and has tried various ways to prevent the prison sentence. Most recently, he filed a clemency petition. The Berlin Senate Justice Administration still needs to decide on this matter. However, this process has no staying power, according to the prosecutor's office.
"Immediate Enforcement" not in the public interest
Walden told the German Press Agency that he had filed an application for a provisional stay of execution. In his view, "there are significant grounds for clemency due to the unlawfulness of the probation revocation decision." The "public interest does not require immediate enforcement." The Senate Justice Administration now needs to decide on this matter.
If all legal remedies have been exhausted and unsuccessfully so, Ramadan will comply with the warrant on his own accord, according to his lawyer. "He is not claiming any special privileges for himself," Walden added.
Despite the sentencing, which is now set to bring Ramadan to prison, the actor drew attention to himself again in 2023 through traffic offenses. At the end of February, the Amtsgericht Tiergarten sentenced him again for reckless driving without a valid license - this time to a prison sentence of ten months. Since Ramadan was already sentenced to imprisonment, the Amtsgericht Tiergarten saw no probation. In addition, it imposed a one-year driving ban.
"Criminal" in Series
Both Ramadan and the prosecution have lodged an appeal against the judgment. The public prosecutor's office had demanded a total sentence of 14 months in prison. The defense had demanded probation.
During "4 Blocks," Ramadan played the head of a criminal Arab-ethnic clan in Berlin-Neukölln, dealing with murder, violence, drug deals, other gangsters, and the police from the Criminal Investigation Department. The critically acclaimed series was his breakthrough as an actor. At the beginning of the year, the seven-part ARD series "Testo," in which he was the leading actor, co-author, and co-director, had its premiere.
Despite the ongoing legal battles, streaming platforms continue to feature Ramadan's popular TV shows, providing a source of entertainment for his fans worldwide. The court of public opinion, however, may deliver its own verdict through the ratings and views of these shows, offering a platform for judgments beyond the courtroom. In light of the multiple traffic offenses, some viewers might question the ethical alignment of consuming media produced by convicted individuals, leading to complex processes of moral justification.
