Criminal Complaint from German Politician Elif Eralp Against Alexander Dobrindt

In his statement to the press, Jasper Prigge, the lawyer of Elif Eralp, who is preparing to become the state prime minister from the Left Party (Die Linke) in Germany's capital Berlin, cited the reason for the criminal complaint as Dobrindt's adoption of a statement describing Eralp as anti-Semitic in the program broadcast on ZDF television.

Prigge stated that the statement in question constituted "slander" and "insult" crimes within the scope of the German Criminal Code.

In the program broadcast on September 24, the host of the program, Maybrit Illner, intervened during the discussion between Dobrindt and the Left Party (Die Linke) Bundestag Group Chair Heidi Reichinnek. While talking about Eralp, she made a slip of the tongue and said, "Elif Eralp says she is an anti-Semite," and then corrected her words and said, "She is not an anti-Semite." But Dobrindt replied, "No, that's right."

Reichinnek reacted harshly to Dobrindt's remarks, calling it "really extremely disgusting."

Eralp's lawyer, Prigge, stated that Dobrindt adopted the program host's slip of the tongue as if it were his own opinion, and that Dobrindt made a false factual claim that Eralp was anti-Semitic, and that this should be considered within the scope of slander and insult.

In the criminal complaint, it was noted that describing Eralp as anti-Semitic could have serious consequences for his political activities, that such a statement could damage his political reputation and affect the process of forming a government in Berlin.

The Left Party, where Eralp was the prime minister candidate, became the first party with 25.7 percent of the votes in the State Assembly elections held in Berlin on September 20.