Official announcement by presiding judge Götzl that Zschäpe will make a statement – defense attorney asked to be relieved of their duties, Wohlleben announces challenge for alleged bias

The trial day began with an announcement by the presiding judge confirming what the press had reported yesterday: Zschäpe defense attorney Grasel has announced to the court that Zschäpe would make a statement on the charges against her tomorrow. A senior partner from his law office had already made such an announcement to the court on 31 August 2015, since then there had been several discussions concerning the date on which the statement was to be made. Nonetheless, the presiding judge did not inform the parties to the trial until today.
Asked by a victim’s counsel whether Zschäpe would answer questions, Grasel stated that questions by the court will be answered while questions by victims’ counsel will not.
Continue reading →