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Fler in the Berlin courtroom
Photo: Paul Zinken / dpa
It was a silent appearance by the Berlin rapper Fler: There are eight charges against the 38-year-old musician.
His client would not comment, announced one of the two defense lawyers at the beginning of the process.
The allegations are of insult, attempted coercion, driving without a license, damage to property, forbidden communications about court hearings.
One of the lawyers speaks of offenses in the "minor area".
In addition, insults are common in the rapper milieu - and an expression of artistic freedom.
Fler shook his head from time to time during the negotiations, otherwise he showed no emotion in the district court of Berlin-Tiergarten and remained silent.
The 38-year-old is said to have appeared quite differently during the alleged acts.
Fler is said to have insulted Bushido and his wife
The prosecution assumes that the rapper repeatedly vilified and insulted different people.
He is said to have insulted a neighbor repeatedly with violent words in July 2018.
On a video portal on the Internet in March 2020 he described the rapper Bushido as a "bastard" and a "disgusting dog".
Bushido's wife was also insulted.
Fler also repeatedly insulted police officers for several minutes.
In another case, he threatened a journalist, and another charge involves photos of an indictment directed against him that Fler uploaded on the Internet.
Before the trial, Fler and his lawyers stated that a "considerable part of the allegations" was "inaccurate, falsified or taken out of context".
In connection with the alleged insults, he wanted to point out that they had to be viewed "in the light of freedom of expression".
"In the rapper milieu is insulted," said one of the lawyers.
That is an artistic element there.
"It's like boxing - if you get into the ring, you can't later report the other for assault."
There has been a feud between Fler and Bushido for years.
They mainly settle their dispute over song lyrics.
Bushido is said to testify as a witness in the trial against his opponent in December.
For weeks, Bushido has also been a witness in the trial against his former business partner Arafat Abou-Chaker.
In the trial against Fler, it was police officers who were the first to be questioned about a scene during a traffic control in Berlin-Zehlendorf in September 2019.
With his wife, the rapper is said to have insulted officials, filmed the actions of the Berlin police without authorization and disseminated them via social media.
Fler and his lawyers assume "chicane"
One of the policemen said, "He's completely furious."
The control was due to suspicion of driving without a license.
Fler and his lawyers, however, assume "harassment".
The rapper, with several criminal records, was not the focus of the police because he was a bully with bad manners.
The rapper should be set as an example "as a representative of alleged so-called clan crime".
The trial will continue on November 25th.
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sen / dpa
