New controversy surrounding the accused ENT specialist Gero Strauß: the court has now issued a warrant for his immediate detention

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Last week, he is alleged to have forged a medical certificate and managed to avoid being forcibly brought before the Leipzig Regional Court by travelling there by train. The fraud trial resumed on Tuesday with another bombshell: the accused ENT specialist, Gero Strauß, failed to appear at the hearing for the second time and submitted a new medical certificate – this time apparently genuine, but not deemed a sufficient excuse by the court. Now the consequences have followed.

The email from Berlin reached the Leipzig Regional Court today, Tuesday, at 12.07 pm: Professor Gero Strauß had appeared at a psychiatrist’s surgery for the second time, visibly agitated and distraught, and had expressed fear of imminent arrest – this is how the psychiatrist reported the matter to the judges in Leipzig. A few hours earlier, the judges had already received a medical certificate stating that Strauß was currently unable to follow court proceedings. The recommendation was therefore that the hearing be postponed by two weeks.

Certificate from last week found to be forged, according to the court

In any case, at 10.00 am that morning, Strauss had not turned up at the Regional Court for the continuation of the fraud trial against him. This was all too reminiscent of the previous week, when the renowned ENT specialist and former head of the Leipzig Head Centre had already failed to appear at the trial without giving any excuse. It was only after a delay of several hours that the 54-year-old arrived by train from Berlin on 9 June, thereby preventing the enforcement of a court order to bring him before the court, which the police would have had to carry out.

However, it transpired that an alleged medical certificate from Berlin’s Charité hospital, which Strauß had sent to justify his absence, was,according to the court, forged. The doctor in charge denied having issued the document in that form.

Judge: Defendant still has not provided a sufficient excuse today

There was apparently no such forged medical certificate presented today – nevertheless, the examination of the facts once again took several hours, during which the main hearing was adjourned. Four summoned witnesses had to be sent home without having given evidence due to time constraints. After several attempts, the Berlin doctor who had issued Strauß the new medical certificate was finally contacted.

However, even an assessment of all the facts does not currently allow for the conclusion that Gero Strauß is unfit to stand trial: “The court does not consider the defendant to have a sufficient excuse, even in light of the new circumstances,” clarified presiding judge Tanja Lötschert.

Neither the current medical certificate – which, according to the judge, may have been issued as a favour – nor earlier medical reports provide grounds for concluding that he is unfit to stand trial. Furthermore, Strauß had demonstrated during his appearance in court that he was cognitively capable of following the proceedings and answering questions. Strauß did not respond to the offer to shorten the daily duration of the proceedings and to take more frequent breaks, the judge continued.

Even the summons to appear last week had apparently not made such an impression on him that he would now comply with his duty to attend. To the court, it appeared as though the defendant had no interest in the trial proceeding, Judge Lötschert stated.

Court takes drastic action: arrest warrant issued against defendant

The consequence: on Tuesday afternoon, the court issued a detention order against the absent defendant to ensure his appearance for the continuation of the proceedings next week.

Professor Gero Strauß has been standing trial since 2 June – the only day of the trial so far on which he appeared of his own accord – on charges of serious fraud, breach of trust and making a false statutory declaration. The prosecution accuses the doctor of misappropriating loans intended for supposed investments in his practice by using the money to finance his lavish lifestyle. This alone is said to have caused losses of almost 1.5 million euros.

Furthermore, the defendant is alleged to have arranged dubious transactions totalling around 214,500 euros, to have rented a luxury flat in Berlin without paying the full rent, and to have misled the Leipzig tax office regarding his financial circumstances. Furthermore, further investigations are ongoing, though these are not the subject of the current proceedings.