German judge gets suspended sentence over Covid mask mandate rebellion
A family judge who attempted to overturn a Covid mask mandate at two schools in Weimar has been given a two-year suspended sentence.
The prosecution had requested a three-year jail term for the judge, who was found guilty of judicial misconduct on Wednesday by the Erfurt Regional Court. The defence had sought an acquittal.
The presiding judge said the defendant in his 2021 ruling had issued a judgment at the Weimar District Court reflecting his own personal views "that he had intended from the outset."
In April 2021, the family judge ruled that children at two schools in Weimar did not have to wear Covid masks in class, contrary to the rules set at the time by the Thuringian Ministry of Education. His decision was later overturned by higher courts. which said he had never been authorized to make rulings of this kind.
German states ended school mask mandates in April 2022.
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The prosecution had requested a three-year jail term for the judge, who was found guilty of judicial misconduct on Wednesday by the Erfurt Regional Court. The defence had sought an acquittal.
The presiding judge said the defendant in his 2021 ruling had issued a judgment at the Weimar District Court reflecting his own personal views "that he had intended from the outset."
In April 2021, the family judge ruled that children at two schools in Weimar did not have to wear Covid masks in class, contrary to the rules set at the time by the Thuringian Ministry of Education. His decision was later overturned by higher courts. which said he had never been authorized to make rulings of this kind.
German states ended school mask mandates in April 2022.
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