Court finds former BSI boss Arne Schönbohm in the right

ZDF is facing a bitter legal defeat and possible six-figure compensation payments due to a contribution to the “ZDF Magazin Royale” by presenter Jan Böhmermann. der „Focus“ reported, the Press Chamber of the Munich Regional Court has, in a preliminary statement, upheld the complaint of the former President of the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), Arne Schönbohm, on five crucial points.

Schönbohm’s lawsuit is directed against a contribution to the “ZDF Magazin Royale” from October 2022. Schönbohm accuses presenter Jan Böhmermann of having linked him to Russian secret services in this program. Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser suspended him following these allegations and transferred him to the Academy of Public Administration. Schönbohm has sued ZDF for damages of 100,000 euros because of the negative headlines and the subsequent unlawful suspension. The Munich Regional Court has set the value of the dispute at 205,000 euros.

Accusations against Schönbohm “did not correspond to the truth”

The disciplinary investigations, including those by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, lasted six months and exonerated Schönbohm from the accusation of being close to Russian secret services. According to “Focus”, the press chamber of the Munich district court also revealed “that the rumored proximity of the former BSI chief to secret service agents via a cyber security association was not true”.

In the oral hearing in Munich, the ZDF’s lawyers rejected these fake news allegations. They countered that Jan Böhmermann’s editorial team had done correct research. The incriminating article from the “ZDF Magazin Royale” is available from the ZDF media library. removed without giving reasons become

Schönbohm himself was forbidden from commenting on the allegations during the pre-disciplinary investigations. Only after he was exonerated was he able to take action and sued the Federal Minister of the Interior for breach of duty of care and against ZDF for false reporting.

A verdict from the Munich Regional Court is expected on November 28.