Journalist Spilcker in sight: Investigations against clans in NRW stopped!

Journalist Spilcker in sight: Investigations against clans in NRW stopped!

An investigative thriller who is amazed even hard -boiled crime fans! The renowned focus-online reporter Axel Spilcker, known for his reporting on Islamists, drug cartels and criminal clans, is targeted by a clan member. The allegations? Embody the absurd top of an apparently endless network of intrigue and threatening backdrops. A member of the al-Z. clan once submitted a defamation against Spilcker, just to get his home address. A tactical maneuver that does not seem unusual in the world of clan crime.

But it can be even more amazing! Another investigation against the 61-year-old journalist was launched, initiated by a clan member who felt defamed by an article-even if he was not even mentioned in it. These allegations led to nationwide investigations that extended about cities such as Dortmund, Munich, Düsseldorf and Cologne without Spilcker being informed. The absurd spectacle lasted one and a half years for the “Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger” the kick-off, which finally led to the cessation of the procedure.

reporter under fire

The verdict was overwhelming: the allegations of any basis were unnecessary, and the investigation should never have taken place. In addition, the address of Spilcker was removed from both the physical and electronic files - a measure that underlines the irresponsible consequences of such accusations. For Spilcker a moment of relief, but also a lesson in terms of gross judicial errors: "Whether thoughtlessness or targeted fixation, this unworthy posse shows how quickly personal data could get into the wrong hands."

The story about an article about fraudulent telephone stitches of clan members leads further bizarre twists: the son of a clan member sought contacted the police, felt defamed by the article because he wears the same first name as his fleeting father! An assertion that is so absurd that it could almost come from a satire. However, the journalist's research was ultimately confirmed and classified as correct, the judicial examination stood and are considered a significant contribution to the public. But the shadow of these investigations is like an alarm sign for the security of investigative journalists.