After the fatal shooting of Matiullah Jabarkhel by a police officer in Fulda on April 13th, 2018 and the discontinued investigations against the officer, the district court (AG) in Fulda had to hear follow-up proceedings yesterday, August 22nd, 2022 (ref.: 22 Ds - 110 Js 13534/19 and others). The defendants were two journalists and a research assistant at Fulda University of Applied Sciences who had published a critical report on the investigation and questions surrounding the crime in an online newspaper or promoted this article. The defendants were accused by the public prosecutor of having committed libel by stating in a report that Matiullah Jabarkhel had been killed with twelve shots from a police weapon. A forensic medical report found that of the shots fired at Matiullah Jabarkhel, four hit the body and two were fatal.
The proceedings also ended with an acquittal at the request of the public prosecutor after the defense requested both a semantic expert report and the questioning of the police officer who fired the shots. In the oral justification for the judgment, the district court stated in agreement with all those involved that even vague wording is protected by freedom of expression and freedom of the press and that the further factual discussion in the article must be taken into account.
“ Criminal proceedings always represent a burden for those affected. The fact that these proceedings have been carried out for years and that such important fundamental rights such as freedom of expression and freedom of the press are being taken into account for the first time in the main oral hearing by the public prosecutor is an unreasonable demand, ” says the Göttingen resident angrily Defense attorney Sven Adam, who represents one of the defendants, about the criminal proceedings. “ The police were proactive in their search to find reporting critical of the police, identify authors and intimidate them with criminal charges. An attack on freedom of the press. said the Marburg defense attorney Dr. Jannick Rienhoff in his plea before the verdict was announced. “ Acquittal is the only right decision. However, this does not answer the fundamental question of how it came about that such an accusation was brought and admitted in the first place. “ adds the Göttingen defender Nils Spörkel.
One of the defendants, the journalist and political scientist Darius Reinhardt, states: “ Instead of a necessary confrontation with institutional racism and promoting the necessary remembrance of Matiullah Jabarkhel, critical reporting should obviously be prevented and prosecuted. I'm happy about the acquittal - but it doesn't solve the problem. “
The defense attorneys Sven Adam, Nils Spörkel and Dr. are available to answer any questions. Jannick Rienhoff is available using the contact details mentioned.
ra sven adam
kontakt@anwaltskanzlei-adam.de
https://www.anwaltskanzlei-adam.de
ra nils spörkel
mail@rechtsanwalt-spoerkel.de
https://www.rechtsanwalt-spoerkel.de
ra dr. Jannik Rienhoff
rienhoff@stein-schmeltzer-rienhoff.de
https://www.stein-schmeltzer-rienhoff.de
