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Gil Ofarim: The presumption of innocence applies until the final conclusion of the proceedings
Photo: Gerald Matzka / picture alliance / dpa
In the defamation proceedings, musician Gil Ofarim failed with his bias applications against a judge at the Leipzig Regional Court.
The Dresden Higher Regional Court (OLG) rejected the complaints against the rejection of the bias claims.
There is no legal remedy against this decision, said an OLG spokeswoman on request.
The district court in Leipzig admitted the charges against the 40-year-old in September and opened the main proceedings.
The trial is scheduled to begin on October 24.
About a year ago, the musician said that an employee of a Leipzig hotel had asked him to take off his chain with the Star of David so that he could check in.
According to the public prosecutor's office in Leipzig, the incident did not happen that way.
The employee concerned had filed a complaint.
According to the court, he appears as a joint plaintiff in the process.
The presumption of innocence applies to Ofarim until the final conclusion of the proceedings.
The 40-year-old had not recently spoken publicly.
The musician's defense lawyers had rejected the presiding judge at the Leipzig Regional Court as biased.
However, the regional court rejected these applications as unfounded and opened the main proceedings, although the application for rejection had not yet been finally decided.
The participation of a rejected judge in the opening procedure does not lead to its ineffectiveness, according to the reasoning of the higher regional court.
The Leipzig Regional Court used a "legal sleight of hand," said the musician's defense attorney.
Accordingly, the trial could take place, but due to the unlawful admission of indictment, according to the defense, any judgment against Gil Ofarim could be overturned.
"We will immediately submit an urgent application to the Federal Constitutional Court with the aim of forbidding the Leipzig Regional Court to negotiate orally," said lawyer Alexander Stevens on request.
kha/dpa