The Berlin Regional Court is examining an action for an injunction against former national soccer player Jérôme Boateng.

It is about statements made by the thirty-three-year-old about his ex-partner Kasia Lenhardt in an interview in early February 2021. The model died a few days after it was published.

After the death of the then twenty-five-year-old, her mother wanted to pursue her interests and prevent the “Bild” interview from spreading further.

"Your concern is to prevent statements about your deceased daughter that contain untruths," said her lawyer Markus Hennig on Tuesday on the sidelines of the hearing.

Boateng's statements distorted the life of Kasia Lenhardt in the long term.

In the interview, Boateng claimed, among other things, that his ex-girlfriend used his relationship with his children from a previous partnership to blackmail him.

He also spoke of alcohol problems.

"The plaintiff wants to avoid her grandson and the underage half-siblings of the deceased being further exposed to this dirt on the Internet," emphasized Hennig.

"A public apology is very important to the family." In his view, this would also help to have the posts deleted on the Internet.

Boateng regrets the interview, his lawyer Stephanie Vendt explained at the hearing.

She had already explained this in her briefs.

"Jérôme Boateng does not want to argue with the family," she said.

"From our point of view, a personal conversation between him and the family would be good." The athlete has not yet issued a voluntary declaration of discontinuance.

The postmortem right of personality

That is why the 27th civil chamber of the district court is now dealing with the case.

The focus is on the so-called postmortem right of personality.

Judge Katharina Saar made it clear that the hurdles are higher than if the person concerned had taken action against the statements during her lifetime.

"The question we have to clarify is: Are there such serious statements in the interview that personal rights can be asserted even after death?" the judge said.

Plaintiff attorney Hennig considers the case law to be outdated and wants to adapt to the digital age.

He was now given four weeks to make further written statements.

According to the judge, a verdict is not expected until the end of June at the earliest.

Lenhardt was a finalist in "Germany's Next Top Model" in 2012 and most recently had a relationship with the former international Boateng.

Shortly before his interview was published, the couple had split up.

On February 9, 2021, her family announced through a lawyer that Kasia was dead.

The police in Berlin then confirmed an operation in which a lifeless person was found.

There are no signs of external influence, it said.

According to a “Spiegel” report, the twenty-five-year-old contacted the Berlin media lawyer Hennig before her death and asked him to check what she could do about the article.