The case of Stefan Gelbhaar and the affidavit
Stefan Gelbhaar, Green Party politician from Pankow, was confronted with serious (sexual) harassment allegations that initially seemed to mean his political end. The allegations were based on affidavits, including one from an alleged person named “Anne K.”. It later emerged that this identity was possibly fictitious - presumably used by the Green Party district politician Shirin Kresse. This shook the credibility of the allegations and rbb had to retract its accusations.
No effective affidavit?
In the course of investigations, it became known that an affidavit by “Anne K.” had been forwarded to a journalist from rbb. However, this had not been submitted to a competent authority and, as already explained by lawyer and notary Ulrich Schellenberg in "the State of the Nation" - podcast, notaries also pay very close attention to the identity of the person submitting an affidavit, which is why it would be virtually impossible to impersonate a non-existent person. In the present situation, however, only a formal declaration was submitted to a journalist. This is therefore not punishable under Section 156 StGB, which only applies to false sworn statements made to a competent authority.
Criminal relevance not ruled out
Listen to the 4th episode of the podcast Lage der Nation (LdN415, 23.01.2025) (4th Mobbing: Die Causa Stefan Gelbhaar, from 49:55 min.)