Police investigations are ongoing against moderator Jan Böhmermann. The satirist revealed this on his ZDF Magazin Royale show on Friday. According to his statement, the background is research on ritual violence and satanic beliefs by a German trauma therapist.
At the request of the Berliner Zeitung, the Cologne police authority confirmed the investigation against Böhmermann. Consequently, investigators received an anonymous tip that the show’s creators were illegally obtaining content for the current show.
According to a report in Clap magazine, criminal charges were personally brought against Böhmermann. At the end of June, he allegedly smuggled one of his employees into an online training course with a false job title, intended only for trained doctors, psychologists and psychotherapists. In addition, the employee should have signed a confidentiality agreement on the content discussed.
NANU? Who the hell is behind this? 🥸
The answer is available tonight @zdfmagazine at 23:00, right after @program today or NOW on @ZDF Media library: https://t.co/2Iu7hjPq3k #Heaven or hell https://t.co/t0aWkE8zcM
-Jan Böhmermann 🤨 (@janboehm) September 8, 2023
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Lawsuit against Böhmermann: ZDF has yet to comment on the incident
Subsequently, the employee wrote an email to the training organizer under the direction of the ZDF Magazin Royal format. He advised that the editorial staff would broadcast and discuss additional training content in one of the upcoming ZDF programs – including personal details of the patient cases discussed. Shortly before the broadcast, the journalist broke down and confided in the State Criminal Police of North Rhine-Westphalia, it is said.
The organizer’s lawyers also reportedly filed a complaint against the undercover journalist. The ZDF has yet to comment on the incident. The broadcaster simply explained that the satirist had an “exclusivity contract with special freedoms”. This means that the broadcaster cannot ban individual content from the program. Böhmermann himself explained during the broadcast that a real name was used during the research.
The episode is mainly about ritual violence and possible satanic views and teachings from a psychotherapist who also appears repeatedly publicly on the internet and media. During the episode, the presenter himself makes serious accusations against the therapist and also against an independent commission that should investigate cases of child abuse for the federal government. According to Böhmermann, the therapist in question was invited for a conversation there at least once. The commission stated that there was a meeting, but did not provide further details. A report from the woman in question would also have reached a court hearing.