The public prosecutor's office in Halle (Saale) has brought charges against the city's mayor, Bernd Wiegand, who has been temporarily removed from office.

The non-party politician and his former office manager are accused of being guilty of misappropriating embezzlement and falsifying evidentiary data in a particularly serious case as part of the "vaccination affair".

Reinhard Bingener

Political correspondent for Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Bremen based in Hanover.

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Wiegand made sure that he himself had a vaccination on January 17, 2021.

A total of nine members of the city's pandemic team and eight members of the city council were vaccinated at a very early stage.

The public prosecutor's office is of the opinion that at that time "there was never a right to vaccination".

She also considers Wiegand's account to be unbelievable, that at the time there was an acute threat of the vaccine expiring.

The investigators also accuse Wiegand and his office manager of wanting to cover up the vaccinations afterwards.

Wiegand publicly presented a note that he had previously backdated, giving the impression that the vaccinations had been approved by the pandemic team.

High imprisonment possible

Judicial circles believe that the charge against Wiegand is probably the first case in which an alleged “vaccination bully” has actually been charged.

The process is considered legally demanding and could take a long time.

The personal risks for Wiegand, who has been in charge of the city of Halle since 2012, are considerable.

The penalty for both alleged offenses is up to five years imprisonment.

A conviction could also affect his pension rights.

Because of the seriousness of the allegations, jurisdiction in the proceedings should lie with the Regional Court of Halle, which must now decide whether to allow the charges.

Wiegand's official business has been in the hands of Mayor Egbert Geier (SPD) since spring 2021.

The term of office of Wiegand, who was re-elected in 2019, runs until 2026. In city politics, it is currently not assumed that there will be an early election of a successor anytime soon.