Critic of coronavirus measures Bhakdi acquitted
Sucharit Bhakdi, a well-known critic of coronavirus measures, has been acquitted of the charge of inciting hatred by the district court in Plon, Germany. The court saw no punishable actions in Bhakdi’s statements about the “Jewish people” and a relativization of the Holocaust. Bhakdi had criticized Israel’s vaccination measures in a video, claiming that the “Jewish people” had learned the “ultimate evil” from the Nazis and “implemented it.”
Holocaust relativization not punishable according to court
The court gave Bhakdi the benefit of the doubt that he may have meant the policy of the Israeli government with the term “Jewish people.” According to the judge, Malte Grundmann, the interpretation that is most favorable to the defendant should be chosen when making a judgment.
Bhakdi’s supporters demonstrate in front of court
Grundmann also did not see Bhakdi’s relativization of the Holocaust during a speech at the Kiel City Hall as a punishable offense. Although the comparison was not acceptable, freedom of opinion was regarded as the higher good in a campaign speech. Furthermore, a trivialization of the Holocaust alone was not suitable for disturbing public peace, and Bhakdi had called for peaceful discourse at the end of his speech, according to the judge.
During the trial, Bhakdi remained silent, letting his lawyers speak for him. Ahead of the trial, Bhakdi’s supporters had organized a demonstration, which the court had warned against. Despite the warning, several hundred Bhakdi supporters demonstrated outside of the courthouse, while the court proceedings took place under intensified security conditions.
Warning about the consequences of the verdict
The verdict has caused concern in some quarters. The Baden-Wurttemberg anti-Semitism commissioner, Michael Blume, saw the decision and its rationale as a setback in the fight against anti-Semitism and “conspiracy entrepreneurs.” He said he had increasing difficulty explaining some courts’ decisions to Jewish communities and Israeli diplomats. The chairman of the Jewish Value Initiative, Elio Adler, feared that the Plön decision had the potential for a breach. If anti-Semitic statements like Bhakdi’s were practically legalized, it would ultimately affect Jews, including in Germany.
As an organization that values ??the rule of law highly, one rarely criticizes specific judgments, Adler emphasized. “Nevertheless, it must be noted that the signaling effect of this judgment is devastating.” Jewish life has thus become one step more uncertain in Germany.