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CRIME

Judge removed from bench for sparing speeders

A judge in North Rhine-Westphalia refusing to prosecute speeders has been removed from the bench on the grounds that he is biased in favour of traffic violators.

Judge removed from bench for sparing speeders
Photo: DPA

The regional daily Westfallen Blatt reported this week that Judge Helmut Knöner had been suspended after his impartiality in cases of speeding was called into question by public prosecutors. The judge recently became famous for announcing he could not penalize people for driving too fast because he had serious misgivings about the legality of speed traps.

“Doubts about the impartiality of a judge are justified when … a judge takes a core position that affects his objectivity and neutrality,” Bernd Kahre, the head of Kröner’s district court, ruled. “The circumstances detailed by public prosecutors warrant concerns of prejudice.”

In early November, Knöner acquitted 42 speeders and said he would not penalise drivers until lawmakers had reviewed how, why and where speeding cameras can be used. He also raised concerns over the legal basis for photographing speeding drivers, saying that it was founded on unjustifiable anti-terrorism legislation.

“The question is whether these radar devices are primarily a way (for municipalities) to secure jobs and earn money,” he told Stern magazine last month.

Though normally prosecutors would have to ask for the judge to be recused for each case, Knöner cancelled all his court upcoming appearances following the decision against him this week.

“After that I called off all appointments in December,” he told Westfallen Blatt.

But he also remained defiant and determined to fight two charges of perversion of justice lodged against him by prosecutors.

“Everyone is playing their own game here, but scoring one victory here doesn’t meant victory overall,” he said.

The Local/rm

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BUSINESS

Elon Musk visits Tesla’s sabotage-hit German factory

Elon Musk travelled Wednesday to Tesla's factory near Berlin to lend his workers "support" after the plant was forced to halt production by a suspected arson attack on nearby power lines.

Elon Musk visits Tesla's sabotage-hit German factory

The Tesla CEO addressed thousands of employees on arrival at the site, accusing “eco-terrorists” of the sabotage as he defended his company’s green credentials.

With his son X AE A-XII in his arms, Musk said: “I am here to support you.”

The billionaire’s visit came a week after power lines supplying the electric carmaker’s only European plant were set on fire in an act of sabotage claimed by a far-left group called the Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group).

READ ALSO: Far-left group claims ‘sabotage’ on Tesla’s German factory

Musk had said then that the attack was “extremely dumb”, while the company said it would cost it several hundred million euros.

A week on, the lights have come back on at the site, but Andre Thierig, who heads the site, said on LinkedIn that it would “take a bit of time” before production is back to full speed.

Industry experts have warned that the reputational impact caused by the sabotage on the region could be more severe than the losses suffered by Tesla.

Tesla’s German plant started production in 2022 following an arduous two-year approval and construction process dogged by administrative and legal obstacles.

Tesla wants to expand the site by 170 hectares and boost production up to one million vehicles annually to feed Europe’s growing demand for electric cars and take on rivals who are shifting away from combustion engine vehicles.

But the plans have annoyed local residents, who voted against the project in a non-binding ballot last month.

After the vote, Tesla said it might have to rethink the plans. Environmental activists opposed to the expansion of the factory have recently also set up a camp in a wooded area near the plant.

READ ALSO: Why is Tesla’s expansion near Berlin so controversial?

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