In the trial against rapper Bushido’s ex-business partner, his defense attorney pleaded for an acquittal of criminal offenses against the musician. The public prosecutor’s office is basing its allegations primarily on Bushido’s descriptions, said lawyer Hansgeorg Birkhoff on Friday in front of the Berlin regional court. This is a core problem in taking evidence. But what matters is not a “compelling narrative,” but rather the burden of proof. His client Arafat A.-Ch. should be acquitted of the charges of attempted serious blackmail, deprivation of liberty, coercion, grievous bodily harm and serious breach of trust.
In connection with secretly recorded conversations, Birkhoff requested a “punishment appropriate to the facts and circumstances.” In addition, his client is entitled to compensation for around two weeks that he was wrongly held in custody in January 2019 because of possible crimes against Bushido.
The 47-year-old, who is considered the clan boss, is the main defendant in the trial, which has been ongoing for almost three and a half years. Co-defendants are three of his brothers, aged 42, 46 and 53. Bushido (45), whose real name is Anis Mohamed Ferchichi, is a witness and co-plaintiff in the criminal proceedings. A large part of the allegations are based on the statements of the rapper, who now lives with his family in Dubai.
Before the defense attorneys pleaded on Friday, the public prosecutor’s office slightly reduced its criminal charges for the main defendant. Instead of a total sentence of four years and four months in prison, she now applied for four years, three months and one week. The background is that the 47-year-old has now paid the outstanding amount of a fine. Senior public prosecutor Petra Leister initially included this in her criminal complaint. She had requested total sentences for her co-defendants, ranging from seven months probation to two years and one month in prison.
On the 113th day of the hearing, the court initially left it open whether it wanted to deliver a verdict on the same day. However, this is considered unlikely. The responsible 38th Criminal Chamber has already set a date for the verdict to be announced on February 5th.
