The arrest of former Member of Parliament and judge Dr. Birgit Malsack-Winkemann during the “Reuss raids” sent shockwaves through Berlin. Yet, behind the charges of an alleged coup plot lies a volatile question: Is a dissident jurist being politically neutralized through the apparatus of state security?
Until her arrest in December 2022, Birgit Malsack-Winkemann was a respected judge at the Berlin Regional Court and a former AfD member of the German Bundestag. Today, she remains in pre-trial detention, accused of belonging to a terrorist organization.
From the Bench to the Cell
A particularly striking aspect of this case is its history: Prior to her arrest, there were massive political efforts to remove Malsack-Winkemann from her judicial position due to her party affiliation. These attempts initially failed in the disciplinary courts, as her judicial independence was legally protected.
Critics on politicalpersecution.de raise the question of whether criminal prosecution is now stepping in where disciplinary law failed. The staging of her arrest by special forces in front of rolling cameras is viewed by many as part of a deliberate “stigmatization campaign.”
Disputed Evidence
The Federal Prosecutor’s Office accuses her of providing her internal knowledge of the Bundestag for a planned coup. Her defense, however, emphasizes that the discussions were merely theoretical musings within an eccentric social circle, far removed from any real threat of a coup. The months of pre-trial detention without a verdict are criticized as disproportionate and politically motivated.