"Reichsbürger" wrote thousands of reports for courts in Offenbach and Frankfurt

Created: 2022-11-02 21:43

By: Hanning Voigts

So-called "Reichsbürger:innen" believe that the Federal Republic is not a sovereign state.

© Patrick Seeger/dpa

A presumed pioneer of the "Reichsbürger" was able to create hundreds of psychiatric expertises for Hessian courts.

The Justice Department doesn't blame itself.

Offenbach – In around 2,000 cases, Hessian courts commissioned a suspected mastermind of the Reich citizen scene as a psychiatric expert, for example in care cases.

With around 1,200 orders, the district court in Offenbach made the most frequent use of the man's expertise.

The district court in Frankfurt ordered 615 external reports from him.

This emerges from the response of the Hessian Ministry of Justice to a parliamentary question from the Left Party, as reported by fr.de.

The magazine "Der Spiegel" reported for the first time in August that Hessian and other courts had employed the man as an expert, who is said to be deeply involved in the scene of the so-called Reich citizens: inside.

The Offenbach district court only became suspicious in 2020, but did not inform the other Hessian courts.

Reich citizens in Hesse: Radical anti-state scene

The Reichsbürger scene denies the state existence of the Federal Republic, is considered right-wing extremist and sometimes violent.

Ten years ago, the appraiser published a book entitled "Die BRD GmbH", on the cover of which he had already described himself in typical scene jargon as a "natural person according to Section 1 of the German Civil Code".

According to the information from the Ministry of Justice, the man had also received orders from the district courts in Friedberg, Langen, Michelstadt, Büdingen and Hanau.

Since the publication of his book in 2012, he has prepared 734 expert opinions for the Offenbach District Court and 506 for the Frankfurt District Court.

As the ministry further announced, experts would in principle be found suitable and appointed in judicial independence.

The state administration of justice and the state government would not be involved.

The ministry raised awareness again after the media report

According to the “Spiegel” report, the ministry once again sensitized the courts to the topic of Reich citizens and pointed out that the courts should inform the police and the intelligence agency in suspected cases.

In the meantime, the Hessian Office for the Protection of the Constitution has also issued a warning against the expert.

Left-wing MP Christiane Böhm said that in the case it was urgent to clarify "why warnings from the Offenbach District Court in the judicial administration fizzled out".

In addition, there is an urgent need for stricter rules for the appointment of experts.

(Hanning Voigts)