The court in Germany has fined Alexander Zverev, the Olympic men’s tennis champion, a total of €450,000 (£392,000) and issued a penalty order for causing physical harm to his ex-girlfriend.
A representative from the Berlin criminal courts informed the Guardian that the Tiergarten district court has issued an injunction against Zverev on October 2nd. Zverev stands accused of physically assaulting a woman and causing harm to her well-being during a dispute in Berlin in May 2020. Zverev has been fined 90 daily rates of €5,000, amounting to a total of €450,000. Zverev denies the accusations and has filed an appeal against the injunction.
In July, the Berlin public prosecutor’s office requested for the issuance of an order. Under German law, a penalty order is used by the prosecutor’s office when a trial is deemed unnecessary, typically in cases with straightforward evidence supporting the accusation. The defendant has the option to challenge the penalty order, resulting in a public trial.
The ninth-ranked male player in the world has challenged the penalty order, so the Tiergarten district court will have another hearing with both the defendant and plaintiffs before the main trial. It is expected that a public trial will be arranged and Zverev is considered innocent until proven guilty. Furthermore, Zverev’s ex-girlfriend has become a co-plaintiff with the Berlin public prosecutor.
In July, Zverev briefly commented on the possibility of a penalty being imposed. He stated, “I deny all accusations. My lawyers are handling the situation and I will not comment further.”
On Tuesday, Zverev’s legal team from Schertz Bergmann released a statement stating that he has challenged the penalty order. They deemed the order “outrageous” and have defended Zverev against the allegations made by the alleged victim. The statement also mentioned that they have medical evidence from experts to support Zverev’s claims of innocence.
The process is outrageous and cannot be considered fair or constitutional. Mr. Zverev will use all available methods to take action against this.
Source: theguardian.com
