What next in the trial against Gero Strauß? It is now up to the psychiatrist to decide

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The defendant’s failure to appear, suspicions of forging a medical certificate, a warrant for his arrest during the hearing – the trial of ENT specialist Gero Strauß has so far been full of twists and surprises, without even having really got into full swing. On Tuesday, Strauß, who stands accused of fraud, appeared once again at the Regional Court – which has now decided how this mammoth trial will proceed.

Will he turn up or won’t he? That was the burning question on Tuesday morning at Leipzig Regional Court. The defendant himself had fuelled the speculation: whilst Prof. Gero Strauß had appeared of his own accord at the start of the trial three weeks ago, the 54-year-old failed to attend the hearing on 9 June.

He stands accused of serious fraud, breach of trust and making false statements under oath. Among other things, the well-known doctor is alleged to have misappropriated loans intended for supposed practice investments to finance a luxurious lifestyle, to have arranged transactions and to have deceived the tax authorities – with an estimated total loss of over 1.7 million euros. However, the legal proceedings regarding the allegations have not yet really got under way.

Defendant brings in new lawyer

Although a police summons was issued two weeks ago and Strauß did eventually travel from Berlin by train – but by then the bombshell had already been dropped: the medical certificate from Berlin’s Charité hospital, which attested to health problems suffered by the former head of the Leipzig Head Centre, was alleged to be a crude forgery.

On 16 June, Strauß again failed to appear at the trial, presenting an authentic medical certificate which, in the view of the criminal division and the prosecution, did not, however, provide sufficient grounds to assume that the defendant was unfit to stand trial.

To ensure the proceedings could go ahead, a detention order was issued against Strauß; according to the court, this has since been suspended subject to certain conditions.

In addition, the defendant was accompanied today by a new legal representative: Lawyer Khubaib-Ali Mohammed from Berlin, who has already been involved in a number of high-profile trials – for instance, he represented the interests of victims in the NSU trial, in the trial concerning the attack on Breitscheidplatz in Berlin, and in the proceedings at the Higher Regional Court of Koblenz regarding state-sponsored torture in Syria. The 44-year-old is currently acting as a defence lawyer in the so-called ‘Reichsbürger’ trial involving the ‘Reuß Group’.

Is the defendant fit to stand trial?

Court-appointed defence lawyer Christian Schößling (53) had actually intended to throw in the towel following the alleged forgery of a medical certificate, as the relationship of trust with his client had been destroyed. However, the court rejected his request to be relieved of his duties, and the Leipzig-based lawyer must continue to defend Gero Strauß. The core of the discussion in the current proceedings remains the question of the defendant’s fitness to stand trial. To the palpable displeasure of some court visitors, this was discussed today behind closed doors.

The reason: the matter concerned health issues – details from the defendant’s highly personal life, meaning that the interests of the media and the public must take a back seat. As a court spokesperson informed the LZ this afternoon in response to an enquiry, it has since been decided that Gero Strauß is to undergo an assessment regarding his fitness to stand trial.

Dr Matthias Lammel, a neurologist and forensic psychiatrist, has been appointed for this purpose; he is a renowned expert whose expertise has already been sought in many criminal trials. The trial will resume on 7 July.