Mannheim Regional Court partially allows charges of sedition against Xavier Naidoo

The Mannheim Regional Court has opened criminal proceedings against the Mannheim singer Xavier Naidoo. According to the court, the prosecution's July 2023 indictment was admitted. In this case, the 54-year-old is accused of incitement to hatred, in one case with insult. A trial date has not yet been set.

Xavier Naidoo is said to have published content denying the Holocaust

According to the indictment, Naidoo is said to have published anti-Semitic and Holocaust-denying content via a Telegram channel between December 2020 and April 2021 - in the form of texts, his own audio message and by linking to a third-party audio message and a video. The musician is also said to have insulted someone who was a member of the “Amadeu Antonio Foundation” and in this context published texts with anti-Semitic content. The investigation was based on various criminal complaints, including from the person who was injured.

The court does not allow further proceedings for sedition

According to the court, the remaining charges in the second trial - also for sedition - were not admitted due to a lack of sufficient suspicion. The public prosecutor's office has filed a complaint against this, which is currently being examined by the Karlsruhe Higher Regional Court. The second indictment was filed in June 2024.

Lawyers: Accusations of sedition are unfounded

Naidoo's lawyers, Edgar Gärtner and Jana Eisenbeiß, said: "After intensive examination, the Mannheim regional court largely followed our opinion and rejected the admission of the charges in five out of six cases." In their opinion, the point on which the lawsuit was admitted does not support the accusation of sedition, according to the lawyers. Your client firmly rejects anti-Semitic, racist and xenophobic ideas and distances himself from any form of discrimination.

Naidoo's apology video four years ago

The musician's lawyers could not immediately be reached for comment. Naidoo published an apology video in 2022 and admitted that he had been lost in conspiracy stories for years. “I said and did things that I regret today,” he said at the time. His lawyers recently emphasized that the allegations were false and were expressly denied. The 54-year-old rejects any anti-Semitic or racist ideas.

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