The editor-in-chief of the German daily Bild, Julian Reichelt, targeted by an internal investigation after complaints from several women for moral harassment and abuse of authority, has asked to be temporarily removed from his post, the group announced on Saturday. Axel Springer.
"To allow a clarification and not to burden the work of the drafting, he (
Editor's note: Reichelt
) asked the board of directors to be temporarily released from office until the allegations have been clarified," said the group owner of the first German daily in a press release, specifying that the request had been "granted".
After the complaints, the group decided to open an investigation, led by a law firm, into "possible violations of compliance" with the values and rules of the newspaper by the editor, aged 40.
Reichelt dismisses the accusations
He is suspected, according to an investigation by the weekly Der Spiegel, of having promoted interns with whom he had an affair, before dismissing them, or even firing them.
Employees have alerted management for several months, but it was slow to verify the allegations against the all-powerful editor-in-chief of the tabloid, according to the weekly.
Julian Reichelt, at the head of the editors-in-chief of the title, "rejects these accusations".
"The investigation is still ongoing," said the German group, which does not wish to give "for the moment details on the procedure and the allegations".
With around 2 million copies, Bild, created in 1952, has focused on news, sports and celebrity news to become Germany's leading daily.
Another replica of the MeToo movement, the city of Berlin announced on Saturday the opening of an internal investigation targeting Klaus Dörr, the artistic director of the Volksbühne in Berlin, one of the main theaters in the German capital.
The investigation relates to accusations in early 2021 of abuse of power and inappropriate "behavior" towards women, according to the press release from the Berlin Senate, ensuring that if the accusations are proven, "all legal possibilities would be examined ".