The Gil Ofarim case apparently always has new surprises in store. First the singer raises much-noticed allegations of anti-Semitism against a Leipzig hotel, then he suddenly becomes the accused himself. But now the case against him falls through. At least for now.
The trial against musician Gil Ofarim in connection with his anti-Semitism allegations against a Leipzig hotel has initially burst. The Leipzig Regional Court announced that the planned dates for the main hearing from October 24 to the end of November had been cancelled.
The step is justified with a duty of care for the accused. It still takes time to decide on the pending appeals by defense counsel in the false accusation and defamation case.
In addition, the time should be used to decide on further charges against Ofarim. This includes false affidavits, fraud and attempted fraud. In addition, the court suggested that an attempt should be made to reach a perpetrator-victim mediation and thus an out-of-court settlement.
The process won't happen anytime soon. The responsible criminal chamber is currently busy with detention cases, it said. In the case of Ofarim, a rescheduling can therefore be expected in six months at the earliest.
On Friday, Ofarim's lawyers failed with their bias applications against the presiding judge at the Leipzig Regional Court. The Dresden Higher Regional Court (OLG) rejected their complaints against the rejection of the bias claims. There is no legal remedy against this decision, emphasized an OLG spokeswoman.
The district court had previously dismissed the applications as unfounded. With the cooperation of the chamber chairman, it also immediately opened the main proceedings, although no final decision had yet been made on his application for rejection. The participation of a rejected judge in the opening procedure does not lead to its ineffectiveness, according to the reasoning of the OLG.
The district court used a "legal sleight of hand", criticized Ofarim's defenders. According to them, the process could have taken place. However, because of what they consider to be illegal admission to prosecution, any judgment should then have been overturned. The lawyers also threatened to go to the Federal Constitutional Court to "prohibit the Leipzig Regional Court from hearing oral arguments."
A year ago, Ofarim explained in a video that went viral that he had been insulted in an anti-Semitic manner in a Leipzig hotel. Specifically, he accused an employee of having asked him to remove his chain with a Star of David when he checked into the hotel.
However, the public prosecutor's office came to the conclusion that the events did not happen as Ofarim had portrayed them. The employee concerned filed a complaint against the musician, which is why he should now be tried for false suspicion and defamation.
