Testimony in the Gil Ofarim trial
What does Jeanette Biedermann know?
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When the trial on the accusation of defamation against Gil Ofarim continues next week, one of the musician’s colleagues will also be questioned: Jeanette Biedermann. She is said to have been in contact with the singer shortly after the incident in a Leipzig hotel, which is the subject of the case.
Singer and actress Jeanette Biedermann has been invited as a witness in the trial against the Jewish musician Gil Ofarim for defamation and false suspicions. The 43-year-old and her husband are expected to testify before the Leipzig regional court on Tuesday, it was said.
At the beginning of October 2021, Ofarim made serious allegations of anti-Semitism against the manager of a Leipzig hotel in an Instagram video. The musician is said to have said, according to the singer, that he should take off his Star of David and only then could he check in. However, after extensive investigations by the public prosecutor’s office, charges were brought against Ofarim himself. The case against the hotel manager was dropped.
According to a court spokesman, Biedermann was not in the hotel. However, she is said to have had contact with Ofarim a little later.
Verdict could come on December 7th
The trial against the singer has been ongoing since November 7th. Many witnesses, including employees but also guests of the hotel, have already been questioned. So far, essentially none of them have agreed with Ofarim’s representations. None of those interviewed had heard an anti-Semitic insult against the musician. Instead, the singer’s behavior was described by some as short-tempered after he had to wait in a queue at the hotel’s reception to check in.
There are currently five more days of hearings scheduled in the trial at the Leipzig Regional Court. A verdict could therefore come on December 7th. If the court actually comes to the conclusion that Ofarim falsely accused the hotel employee, the scope ranges from a fine to five years in prison. As long as the singer is not legally convicted, he is presumed innocent.
Jeanette Biedermann began her career as an actress in 1999 in the RTL hit series “Gute Zeiten, bad Zeiten”. She later also appeared in numerous other film and television formats. She also celebrated success as a singer – solo as well as with her now disbanded band Ewig.
