20260514 Anwaltliche Verteidigung erscheint eingeschränkt

The Rule of Law in Jeopardy

The Committee for Fundamental Rights and Democracy (CFRD) reports on what is essentially incomprehensible behavior during a German court hearing. The links below describe the NGO’s two press releases regarding the two days of proceedings. We do not wish to repeat this here and will merely list the main points of criticism regarding the trial against the ULM5:

All motions filed by the defense were either rejected or not even admitted for consideration.

The defendants were given no opportunity to communicate confidentially with their respective defense attorneys.

The request to allow two court reporters for the defense to prepare a verbatim transcript was categorically rejected.

Michèle Winkler, the political advisor for the Committee for Fundamental Rights and Democracy, summarizes her observations as follows: "After the first two days of the trial, the judge and her panel have lost all credibility regarding their ability or willingness to render an impartial decision. A criminal trial serves to gather evidence and hear both incriminating and exculpatory arguments in order to reach an informed decision. But if the court is not even willing to listen, then this is not a fair trial, but a play — staged to legitimize a punishment that has already been decided.”

Read both press releases!

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)