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Court Halts Pocher Defamation Case in Cologne With €15,000 Charity Payment

The procedural suspension leaves him without a conviction or criminal record.

Overview

  • After a legal discussion, the Amtsgericht Köln discontinued the üble Nachrede case under §153a StPO on condition that Oliver Pocher pays €15,000 to the Kinderschutzbund, a children's hospice, and Doctors Without Borders within three months.
  • The charges stemmed from two 2020 'Bildschirmkontrolle' videos in which Pocher alleged that influencer Anne Wünsche bought followers, likes, and roughly 96,000 heart emojis.
  • Pocher appeared in court as ordered and agreed to the discontinuation proposed by the judge, opting to resolve the matter with a charitable payment.
  • His lawyer acknowledged in court that Pocher had relied on an informant and had not sufficiently verified the allegations before publishing them.
  • In a separate civil ruling from the Hamburg Regional Court, Pocher is barred from repeating the claims on pain of an Ordnungsgeld of up to €250,000, while Wünsche’s damages claim was rejected and both sides may appeal.