A German businessman, Michael Ballweg, who is the founder of the Querdenken movement, had a pre-trial discussion with the judges, prosecution and defense on March 12. The court has now made the content of the discussion public, stating that the charges against Ballweg are, in their preliminary assessment, not tenable. As a result, the Stuttgart court is recommending the discontinuation of the proceedings due to lack of substance, as per Section 153, Paragraph 2 of the German Criminal Procedure Code.
The prosecution, however, does not agree with the discontinuation of the proceedings and instead filed an application to recuse the entire panel of judges on Monday. This unexpected turn of events was reported by the defense in a press release, stating that the application to recuse the judges was filed at the start of the hearing on Monday.
The defense lawyer, Gregor Samini, considers the application to recuse the judges as problematic, particularly since it was filed late and as such, is considered an unallowable and ungrounded application by the Federal Court of Justice. The application lacks substantial arguments to support the claim that the judges are biased, Samini said in an interview with the Kopp-Verlag.
Another lawyer for Ballweg, Dr. Reinhard Löffler, also commented on the application to recuse the judges, stating that the court’s statements during the pre-trial discussion already indicated a likely acquittal. The prosecution, however, did not strongly object to this and instead, stated that they would need to ask higher authorities for guidance, as they lacked the authority to make a decision. The court then asked all parties for a response by last Friday, but the prosecution did not respond, nor did they file the application to recuse the judges until Monday. Löffler believes that the application to recuse the judges is a sign of the prosecution’s desperation.
The defense also reported in their press release that the prosecution justified their application to recuse the judges by stating that the presence of numerous journalists during the hearing was problematic for them.
After the hearing, Ballweg invited the press to attend the further proceedings, saying, “We still live in a country where criminal trials are public. Therefore, this is also an invitation to the press to attend the further proceedings.”
The next hearing is scheduled for March 25, 2025, at the Stuttgart District Court, with further witness testimonies to be heard.