Former German Chancellor lost lawsuit filed over Navalny's interview

A Hamburg court rejected the lawsuit filed by former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder against the tabloid Bild after the publication of an interview with Alexei Navalny. In it, the Russian oppositionist called the German politician “Putin’s errand boy.”

“The former head of the German government wanted to ban the German media from publishing statements by a world-famous critic of the Kremlin. Schröder also threatened other media outlets “to sue if they continue to spread false accusations,” Bild wrote about this.

The tabloid published the Navalny interview in question in October 2020. At that time, Navalny was undergoing rehabilitation in Berlin after being poisoned with Novichok. The Russian politician then, in particular, told the German publication that Schröder “protects murderers” and also receives “hidden payments” from the Russian authorities.

“I don’t know what hidden payments he received from Putin. There is an official fee and I have no doubt that there are also hidden fees. This is my personal opinion as a lawyer who has been investigating Rosneft and Gazprom for several years. I don’t have a document that says in black and white: Here, Mr. Schroeder, this is your briefcase full of money. But I have no doubt that Schroeder receives hidden payments,” Navalny said.

According to Bild, Schröder's claim was rejected on March 8. The former chancellor did not file an appeal. The publication notes that the decision has already entered into legal force, and now Schroeder will be required to cover legal costs.

Gerhard Schröder was Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. After his defeat in the 2005 elections, Vladimir Putin invited Schröder to take the post of head of the shareholders committee of Nord Stream AG . In 2017, the ex-chancellor became chairman of the board of directors of Rosneft. Schröder left this post in May 2022, shortly after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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