The trial against the singer Gil Ofarim, which was scheduled to begin next Monday in the Leipzig District Court, will not take place.
The court surprisingly canceled all hearing dates on Monday.
In doing so, it wanted to counteract the impression that Ofarim's defense attorneys had been circulating for months that the accused was being treated worse than the 'average' accused because of "his actual or supposed celebrity status," the chamber said.
At the same time, the judges criticized the fact that the defense "despite the chamber's efforts to de-escalate" continued to escalate its attacks on the court and tried to prevent the start of the trial, which had been agreed with all parties, with "misinterpretations" of decisions.
Stephen Locke
Correspondent for Saxony and Thuringia based in Dresden.
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The Dresden Higher Regional Court had previously dismissed an appeal by Ofarim's defense attorneys against the rejection of several requests for bias against the chairman of the chamber as inadmissible.
Ofarim's lawyers had repeatedly criticized the opening of the main proceedings as unlawful.
They spoke of a "show trial".
Ofarim is charged with false suspicion on two counts, one of which is defamation.
In October 2021, he accused an employee of a Leipzig hotel of anti-Semitism.
He is said to have asked Ofarim to take off his Star of David chain before he could check in.
A cell phone video showing Ofarim's version quickly spread across the internet.
The employee, who acts as a joint plaintiff, vehemently denies the allegation;
he has so far been exonerated by an internal investigation and statements by guests.
The court also wants to use the time to decide on another charge of fraud against Ofarim.
At the same time, it recommended using the time to try to find a balance between the accused and the joint plaintiff.