As of: January 30, 2024, 2:34 p.m
By: Katja Kraft
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The Munich investigative journalist Daniel Harrich made two films about criminal dealings between German members of the Bundestag and Azerbaijan.
© Gerhard Blank/BR
Munich director Daniel Harrich reveals criminal dealings between German members of the Bundestag and Azerbaijan in the ARD film “Am Abgrund”.
Daniel Harrich (“The Blind Spot”) once again had the right nose.
Or did the multiple award-winning Munich investigative journalist and his team get the ball rolling in the first place with their research?
“I would never presume to say that – I’m just really happy that things are moving,” says the director in an interview with our newspaper.
As reported, the Munich Public Prosecutor's Office has brought charges against former Bundestag members Axel E. Fischer (CDU) and Eduard Lintner (CSU) on suspicion of corruption.
The accused are said to have received large monetary payments from Azerbaijan.
In return, they are said to have represented the political interests of the authoritarian regime and covered up human rights violations.
Exactly what two new films by Harrich will report on on March 6, 2024: Then, from 8:15 p.m., the first will show his feature film “Am Abgrund” – with, among others, Heiner Lauterbach and Hans-Jochen Wagner – and then his documentary film of the same name.
An ARD theme evening is dedicated to illegal businesses
The 40-year-old and his team have been researching both for years.
We have penetrated deeply into the illegal dealings of German politicians with dictatorial governments.
In the documentary they accompany, among others, the Bundestag member Frank Schwabe (SPD), head of the German delegation to the Council of Europe.
At Frank Schwabe's request, the Council of Europe withdrew the accreditation of the delegation of the Republic of Azerbaijan last week.
Daniel Harrich's research reveals why MPs looked the other way when elections were falsified in Azerbaijan, why they remained silent when opposition members in European countries like Germany were persecuted and even murdered.
The research shows how the web of corruption encompassed the Council of Europe and the Bundestag.
“Aiserbaijan seems far away, but our country is involved in the overexploitation of people and nature.
We can no longer look away,” emphasizes Daniel Harrich.
A first step has been taken.