Background

Prof. Sucharit Bhakdi has been charged by the lower court in Plön, Germany, with the following:

1. having incited hatred against a religious group and attacked the human dignity of others by insulting and maliciously disparaging that religious group, while acting in concert in a manner likely to disturb the public peace; and

2. having publicly trivialized an act committed under the rule of National Socialism of the kind described in Section 6 (1) of the International Criminal Code in a manner likely to disturb public peace.

The two charges stem from statements made during two separate occasions, the first on an unknown date in April 2021 and the second on September 24, 2021.  (1)(3)

The charges partly result from separate complaints filed by 4 individuals:

July 14, 2021: Dr. Elio Adler,chairman of the civil society association Die Wertinitiative e.V, files a criminal complaint for incitement of the masses against Prof. Bhakdi via the online portal of the Berlin Police at 11:13 a.m. Mr. Adler cites the interview titled “Vaccination! Hell on earth! Professor Bhakdi,” published via Kai Stuht’s website claiming that it contains anti-semitic content. It is mentioned in the police documents that the interview is no longer available at the website. However, Dr. Adler indicates that a summarized version of the interview is available on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnsarBerlin/status/1415052707065380867. … [account suspended as of May 2023] (1)

July 14, 2021: Mr. Klaus Baumann files a criminal complaint against Prof. Bhakdi via the online portal of the State Criminal Police Office Lower Saxony at 4:45 p.m. Mr. Baumann references a Twitter post which contains a video excerpt of Prof. Bhakdi from an interview titled, “Vaccination! Hell on earth! Professor Bhakdi.” An acknowledgement of receipt of the report states that the State Criminal Police Office Lower Saxony have been assigned to process the complaint. The text of the complaint is as follows: (1)

Prof. Bhakdi gave an interview to KenFM *editor’s note: this is incorrect – the interview was given to Kai Stuht* excerpts of which are available as a video in the following tweet: [account suspended as of May 2023]. He speaks there about Israel and the Jews. Claiming, “The people who fled, from this land (Germany)—from this land where arch evil was and have found their land; have turned their own land into Something worse than Germany was.” he described the vaccinations in Israel as worse than the Holocaust, thereby trivializing the Holocaust, which is a punishable incitement of the masses. His sentences thereafter also underline this context, where he blathers about “they have now learned evil and implemented it” and “Israel as a living hell.”

July 14, 2021: Mr. Sigmount Königsberg*, Commissioner Against Antisemitism of the Jewish Community Berlin, files a criminal complaint against Prof. Bhakdi to the Commissioner against Anti-Semitism at the Office of the State General Prosecutor. The complaint is filed via an email addressed to Mr. Hartmann Hild at 10:46 am. The text of the complaint is as follows:*

I hereby file a criminal complaint and criminal charges against Prof. Dr. med. Sucharit Bhakdi—Adress unknown; the association he is president of, Physicians and Scientists for Health, Freedom and Democracy“ [Mediziner und Wissenschaftler fur Gesundheit, Freiheit und Demokratie e.V] lists the following address [as its own] in the imprint: c/o Wittgasse 9, 94032 Passau—for incitement of the masses as can be seen in this twitter video segment: [account suspended as of May 2023] that is part of this video and video

By November 1, 2021: Kiel regional court prosecutor’s office issues an internal memo stating the decision to close the proceedings for lack of merit. (1)

By November 12, 2021 the Keil State Court Prosecutor had informed all three complainants that the proceedings have been closed on the grounds of insufficient suspicion. (1)

Following objections to the dismissal by Dr. Elio Adler *and *Mr. Sigmount Königsberg and on November 24, 2021, The Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office of the province of Schleswig-Holstein notifies Dr. Elio Adler of its decision to reopen the investigation of the Kiel public prosecutor’s office and that it has taken over the case against Prof. Bhakdi pursuant to § 145 section 1 of the German Judicature Act (GVG [Gerichtsverfassungsgesetz]). (1)

November 29, 2021*: The Office of the Attorney General issues a press release which “states that the Office of the Attorney General requested the files from the Kiel Public Prosecutor’s Office on November 19, 2021, based on a complaint from a complainant. Additionally, the press release states the Attorney General then decided to take over the proceedings in view of the importance of consistently prosecuting anti-Semitic crimes.”*

On January 3, 2022 a fourth individual … Mr. Sebastian Willing files a complaint via email to the prosecutor’s office at the Kiel Regional Court at 8:14 p.m. Mr. Willing alleges that Prof. Bhakdi committed the crime of belittling/trivializing the Holocaust by comparing the COVID-19 vaccination campaign to the Holocaust during a speech at a campaign event in Kiel on September 24, 2021 and urges them to investigate. Mr. Willing cites a twitter post containing a video excerpt of the speech. The text of the complaint is as follows: (1)

Dear Sir or Madam,

According to § 160 I of the Code of Criminal Procedure, please take note with this email that Mr Sucharit Bhakdi has very probably committed a punishable offence against § 130 Ill of the Criminal Code.

Mr Bhakdi publicly commented on the Holocaust as follows:

“With the approval of the vaccines the first milestone of the agenda has been achieved and the race is on to achieve the ultimate goal. This ultimate goal is the creation of the new reality and involves nothing other than the second Holocaust.”

By putting the vaccination—which is demonstrably harmless—against the Corona virus on par with the Holocaust, he is belittling the genocide of the National Socialists in the 3rd Reich and thus fulfilling the constituent elements of § 130 III StGB [StGB = Criminal Code].

The original statement can be found in this tweet:

and in the attachment to this email. Since you have now become aware of the offence that has been committed, I ask you to commence an investigation.

I myself am not further connected with the matter and only want Mr. Bhakdi to be held accountable for his statement. Therefore, I request you to take this information as a cause for investigation, but not include my name in the file.(1)

May 1, 2022: 

the Kiel Public Prosecutor and new Commissioner for Combating Antisemitism in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, Silke Füssinger, issued an indictment [ Case no. OJs 9/21 ] against the defendant, Prof. Sucharit Bhakdi, charging him with two counts. (1, 6)

1. having incited hatred against a religious group and attacked the human dignity of others by insulting and maliciously disparaging that religious group, while acting in concert in a manner likely to disturb the public peace; and

2. having publicly trivialized an act committed under the rule of National Socialism of the kind described in Section 6 (1) of the International Criminal Code in a manner likely to disturb public peace. (6)

(Note: translated from German to English)

The two charges refer to public statements made by Prof. Bhakdi, in which he compared the COVID-19 vaccination program to 1940s Germany. Prof. Bhakdi has opposed this vaccination program from the very beginning. (6)

In an open letter to the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which was co-signed by more than 100 other doctors and scientists, Prof. Bhakdi demanded that the Agency revoke its approval of the gene-based vaccines. He consistently warned the public of its dangers. (6)

His prediction that the vaccines would induce autoimmune-like inflammation and vascular damage throughout the body, leading to severe injury and death, has since been substantiated by the work of pathologists such as Prof. Arne Burkhardt and Dr. Michael Mörz.(6)

While Prof. Bhakdi’s advice had been sought out by high-ranking government officials in previous years, his criticism of the COVID-19 vaccines proved unpopular with the authorities and the mainstream media. The two charges brought against Prof. Bhakdi should be understood in this context. They stem from statements made on two separate occasions.(6)

The first charge of “incitement” relates to statements made during an interview titled “Die Impfung! Die Hölle auf Erden! Professor Bhakdi,” which in English means “Vaccination! Hell on Earth! Prof. Bhakdi.” The interview was filmed on an unknown date in April 2021 and released in excerpts the following month and then released in full in early July 2021. During the interview, Prof. Bhakdi can be heard saying the following: (6)

“… what hit you guys. Faster than lightning. And if you are so indolent and you don’t rise up and say ‘no, you are not doing this with us,’ then you are done for. And then you wouldn’t have the possibility to flee. Israel, the Israelis can no longer flee. The country is closed. That’s what will happen here. And I was once asked by an American what I have to say about Israel, I said, for me the Israelis, this people that I admired more than any other people in the world, I was an admirer of Jews, yes, you know I’m a music lover, art lover. The greatest spirits were the Jews. I’m sorry to tell you this, yes. I’m sorry, I’m a Buddhist … Yes, I admired them. I am, you have seen my record collection, I went after these Jewish musicians to get a signature from them. Isaacson, David Oistrach, yes, I travelled hundreds of kilometres to hear them and to get their autograph. I adored them. And now they’re doing this. They, the people who fled from this land, from this land where arch evil was, and have found their land. Have turned their own country into something even worse than Germany was. So unbelievable. And then I told the Americans, that’s the bad thing about the Jews. They learn well. There is no people who learns better than they do. But they have learned evil now. And implemented it. And that’s why Israel is now “living hell”. And I told the Americans, “and if you’re not careful, America will be living hell too, and I’m telling you now, your country will be turned into living hell if you don’t rise up soon.” (6)

The second charge of “trivialization of the Holocaust” relates to statements made during a speech at a campaign event in Kiel, Germany, on Sept. 24, 2021. During the speech, Prof. Bhakdi could be heard saying the following: (6)

“It is clear to all in the know that with the formal approval of the vaccines, the first milestone of the agenda has been reached and the race is on to achieve the ultimate goal. This final goal is the creation of the new reality and involves nothing less than the second holocaust. The abolition of humanity in its current manifestation.” (6)

According to the indictment, the maximum penalty, if found guilty, was two years in prison and/or a fine. (6)

In October 2022, a hearing was scheduled for March 24, 2023. However, due to a court error, the hearing was postponed to Tuesday May 23, 2023, at 9 am at the Amtsgericht Plön (Local Court). (6)

This is how Holocaust Survivor Irène Tokayer, who was born in 1927 in Germany, phrased the charge in a statement on behalf of Prof Bhakdi just a few days ahead of the trial.  (5)

May 23, 2023 Day of Trial

• See running commentary on the proceedings of the one day trial leading to the acquittal of Prof. Bhakdi posted by an observer, data analyst Tom Lausen, whose brother, Sven Lausen was one of the three lawyers defending Bhakdi (2)
• See also the comprehensive report from journalist, Taylor Hudak based on a transcript of the full court proceedings (6)

Significance

First high profile German show trial of a prominent anti-Covid measures retired Professor Emeritus of Microbiology.

Plaintiff’s Argument

The Senior Public Prosecutor Füssinger stated that Bhakdi had, together with media channel owner Kai Stuht, planned to incite the public with seditious language (2)

She argued that a breach of the public peace had occurred and that Bhakdi should be fined up to 180 daily sentences of 90 Euros each. (2)

Prosecutor at the county court in Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein’s capital. Silke Füssinger, who at the Chief Public Prosecutor’s office of Schleswig-Holstein had been in charge of “political crime” for a number of years already, was named Commissioner for Antisemitism for the Chief Public Prosecutor’s office, effective in December of 2021, just weeks after the charges against Professor Bhakdi were dropped. A press release dated November 29 stated that by then the Chief Public Prosecutor had decided to take over the proceedings “in view of the importance of consistently prosecuting anti-Semitic crimes.” (4)

Relevant Prior Judgements/ Cases

…More information is needed…

Decision

On May 23, 2023

At 17:45 Justice Grundmann gave a not guilty verdict, clearing Prof Bhakdi of all charges.

The judge explained that Prof. Bhakdi was not liable for either charge and did not do what he was accused of. The judge referenced the importance of free speech and freedom of expression. He stated that Prof. Bhakdi advocated for peace and unity and expressed himself in a manner that allowed for open discussion. Prof. Bhakdi sought to create an atmosphere in which people can have open dialogue and embrace one another.(6)

Aftermath

Prosecutor’s Response

After the verdict was read and the hearing ended, the Chief Public Prosecutor [Silke Füssinger] issued a statement that the decision would be appealed. (4)

Further Research

Court Documents:

• Translation of Tom Lausen`s 1st Person Trial Observations
• Timeline: Prof. Sucharit Bhakdi Case

In the news:

Media

Keyword

Anti-Semitic, Bhakdi, Doctors4CovidEthics, free speech, Genocide, Germany, Holocaust, Israel, Kiel, Kiel Public Prosecutor, Martin Schwab, Microbiology, Plön, professor, Schleswig-Holstein, Schwab, Sucharit, Tokayer, Vera Sharav, Wertinitiative