Accusation of sexism: Berlin SPD politician Chebli receives compensation for pain and suffering from Tichy
After misogynistic statements about her in a magazine, the Berlin SPD politician Sawsan Chebli receives compensation for pain and suffering. The Berlin Regional Court ruled that the 43-year-old’s journalist Roland Tichy had to pay 10,000 euros, as Cheblis Christian Schertz and a court spokesman announced on Tuesday (Az 27 O 195/21).
Tichys Verlag has not yet commented on the judgment and possible further action.
In a column in the monthly “Tichy’s Insight”, an author wrote about Chebli’s candidacy for the Bundestag, using a sexist formulation. The article published in September 2020 caused a stir nationwide because of this choice of words. Various personalities publicly show solidarity with Chebli, who was State Secretary for Civic Commitment and International Affairs in the Berlin Senate Chancellery until December 2021.
The then state minister for digital in the federal government, Dorothee Bär (CSU), terminated her membership in the Ludwig-Erhard-Stiftung in protest against Tichy. A little later, Tichy gave up the chairmanship of the foundation.
In previous proceedings, Chebli had already obtained a cease and desist declaration from Tichy. “It was important to me to set an example here as well and to show that sexism should never be normal and that it does not remain without consequences,” she said of the new decision made by the dpa regional court on December 16.
Her lawyer Schertz said: “It is to be terminated that the German judiciary is making it clear that it is not only opposing brutalization, hatred and defamation with injunctive relief, but also with monetary compensation.” The court emphasizes that the statements in the contribution are a violation of human dignity and a serious violation of personal rights.
The court spokesman gave no further details. The written grounds for the judgment are not yet available. An appeal to the higher court against the judgment is possible.