Defense lawyer on rape allegation against Dieter Wedel: "Perhaps border crossings are more common in creative professions"

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Defense lawyer Fischer, Korn, Gauweiler: "The proceedings began with a verdict"

Photo: Florian Generotzky / DER SPIEGEL

At the beginning of March, the Munich public prosecutor brought charges against the director Dieter Wedel, 81.

According to this, Wedel is said to have raped the actress Jany Tempel, now 51, 25 years ago when she auditioned for a role in a Munich hotel room.

A good three years ago, several actresses first made serious accusations in "Zeit-Magazin" and then in "Zeit" Wedel: He had harassed and sexually harassed them, sometimes even raped them or at least tried to do so.

Most of the allegations were statute-barred or not criminally relevant.

In the Tempel case, however, the prosecution began to investigate.

Wedel is represented by the defense team Dörthe Korn, 48, Peter Gauweiler, 71, and recently also Thomas Fischer, 67, of the Munich law firm Gauweiler & Sauter.

Korn was entrusted with the case from the start.

Until his retirement, Fischer was the presiding judge of the 2nd criminal division of the Federal Court of Justice.

Fischer has been a columnist for SPIEGEL since autumn 2018.

Before that he wrote for Die Zeit, but fell out with the editors over the coverage of the Wedel case.

Fischer was admitted to the bar this week and now works as an external contractor for Gauweiler's law firm.

This is his first case as a criminal defense attorney.

SPIEGEL:

Mr. Fischer, Mr. Gauweiler, Ms. Korn, you invited us to your office.

Why?

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