06/07/2018

Bei den Zwölf Stämmen in Klosterzimmern ist es immer wieder zu Gewalt gegen Kinder gekommen, wie in diversen Gerichtsverfahren festgestellt wurde. Foto: Jan Kandzora

Ein Mann soll zwei Buben teils mehrfach nach den Vorstellungen der Zwölf Stämme gezüchtigt haben. Der Verteidiger bezweifelt, dass deren Aussagen glaubwürdig sind.

Von Verena Mörzl

Es ist nun wohl schon das 15. vergleichbare Verfahren dieser Art, womöglich auch eines der letzten. Doch den schauderhaften Charakter haben die Verhandlungen gegen Mitglieder der Glaubensgemeinschaft Zwölf Stämme nicht verloren. Einige von ihnen, die bis 2016 noch auf dem Gutshof in Klosterzimmern gelebt haben, sind in eine Gemeinschaft nach Tschechien gezogen. Dem Vernehmen nach sollen ihre Züchtigungen dort nicht wie in Deutschland bestraft werden. In den USA berichten lokale Medien aktuell über mutmaßliche Kinderarbeit auf einer Farm nahe der Stadt Cambridge in Washington County, New York, die von den Zwölf Stämmen betrieben wird. Die Sekte selbst bestreitet die Kinderarbeit.

Vor dem Nördlinger Amtsgericht fand gestern das Verfahren statt, das eigentlich schon für Januar 2017 angesetzt war. Die Staatsanwaltschaft wirft einem 52-Jährigen gefährliche Körperverletzung sowie Misshandlung von Schutzbefohlenen vor. 2012 und 2013 soll er mit Ruten zwei Buben geschlagen haben, einen mehrmals. In einem Video zeigt der Vorsitzende Richter des Jugendschöffengerichts, Gerhard Schamann, die Vernehmung der zu dieser Zeit Zehn- und Elfjährigen. Der Jüngere berichtet, dass er auf dem Gutshof in Klosterzimmern bestraft wurde, weil ihm das Essen nicht schmeckte. Zuerst habe die Mutter zugeschlagen, weil er danach noch immer nicht aß, auch die Lehrerin, die bereits zu einer Haftstrafe verurteilt wurde. Als er auch dann nicht essen wollte, holten sie den Angeklagten und gingen mit dem Jungen in den „Schlagkeller“, wie er ihn bezeichnet. Der Bub erinnert sich in dem Video, dass die Frauen ihn fixierten, sodass der Mann ihn schlagen konnte.

Das andere Kind erzählt, dass es mit einer Rute gezüchtigt wurde, wenn es sich in Wörnitz (auch hier lebten Mitglieder) nicht so verhalten habe, wie es der Angeklagte wünschte. Über eine Tränke gebeugt soll er auf einer Wiese auf den Hintern geschlagen worden sein. Wie der Bub sagt, ein ganzes Frühjahr lang jedes Wochenende bis hin zum Sommer. „Wenn ich nicht gefolgt hab’ oder Schafe gestreichelt habe, obwohl ich nicht durfte, oder durch eine Pfütze mit Gummistiefel gestampft bin, dann hat er das ’töricht’ genannt und mich geschlagen, so zehn bis zwanzig Mal.“ Er zählt die Wunden auf bis hin zu Blutungen und sagt zur Richterin, die damals mit ihm sprach: „Es gab keinen einzigen Tag, seitdem ich mich erinnern kann, an dem ich nicht schlecht geträumt habe oder Angst hatte oder nicht geschlagen wurde.“ Er habe sich nach seiner Arbeit, dem Trocknen von Solarpaneelen, nicht ablenken dürfen, wenn es ihm nicht erlaubt wurde.

Vor Gericht bestreitet der angeklagte 52-Jährige seine Taten. Er behauptet, dass die Fantasie der Buben angeregt wurde. Er sei zum Prozess gekommen, weil er „das Ganze aus der Welt haben wolle“. Er habe den Elfjährigen nur einmal mit zu den Schafen genommen und da habe es keine Züchtigung gegeben. Das sei außerdem an einem anderen Ort gewesen.

Der Angeklagte selbst ist in Rumänien aufgewachsen, auf eine deutsche Schule gegangen. „Meine Eltern haben mich auch gezüchtigt, aber mein Vater ist nie zornig geworden“, erzählt das Zwölf-Stämme-Mitglied und beschreibt, dass auch bei ihm ein Gürtel laut geschnalzt hätte. „Ich habe Respekt, dass er (sein Vater) etwas tut, wenn ich etwas mit einem Stein kaputtgemacht habe. (…) Ich habe den besten Vater gehabt und wünsche mir, dass das meine Kinder auch sagen können.“

Verteidiger Hans-Walter Forkel sieht Widersprüche in den Aussagen der Opfer und behauptet, dass der Angeklagte während der Zeit, in der die Schläge erfolgt sein sollen, nicht in Klosterzimmern gewesen sei. Außerdem lägen keine Qualen vor. Er plädiert auf Freispruch.

Die Staatsanwaltschaft sieht das deutlich anders und fordert zwei Jahre Haft ohne Bewährung, weil der Angeklagte keine Reue zeigt und kein Geständnis ablegt. Staatsanwältin Irmina Palczynksa sieht den Sachverhalt als bestätigt. Zu seelischen Qualen zählt ihr zufolge durchaus, wenn man in den „Schlagkeller“ gebracht werde und Extraschläge erhält, sobald man gezuckt oder geweint hat.

Richter Gerhard Schamann stützt sich auf die Ausführungen der Staatsanwältin und verurteilt den Angeklagten zu einer Gefängnisstrafe von 15 Monaten. Die Aussagen der Kinder seien nach seiner Auffassung glaubwürdig. Beim Zehnjährigen handle es sich um gefährliche Körperverletzung, weil drei Personen involviert waren. Im Fall des anderen Kindes liege einfache Körperverletzung und die Misshandlung von Schutzbefohlenen in zwölf Fällen vor.

5. Juli 2018

Der letzte Prozess in der Causa 12 Stämme ging jetzt zu Ende. Einige Mitglieder der Glaubensgemeinschaft auf einem Landgut bei Deiningen waren wegen Kindesmisshandlung angeklagt. Und heute wurde in Nördlingen das Urteil gesprochen.

March 22, 2018

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France

BERLIN — The European Court of Human Rights on Thursday upheld Germany’s decision to take away the children of families in a Christian sect to protect them from being disciplined by caning, agreeing the punishment constituted child abuse and authorities were left with no choice.

Bavarian authorities in 2013 raided the Twelve Tribes sect settlements near the towns of Deinigen and Woernitz and took 40 children, between ages 18 months and 17 years, into foster care after a hidden-camera media report showed the parents caning children as punishment.

The sect did not deny using the cane, saying on its website at the time that “when they are disobedient or intentionally hurtful to others we spank them with a small reed-like rod, which only inflicts pain and not damage.” It said they consider their children precious and wonderful and “because we love them we do spank them.”

In its ruling, the Strasbourg court found the sect had employed “a form of institutionalized violence against minors” and that even if social workers had stepped in, they “could not have effectively protected the children, as corporally disciplining the children had been based on their unshakeable dogma.”

a hearing at the European Court of Human Rights

The case was brought by four families, from whom eight children were taken, who argued Germany’s actions were a violation of European rules meant to ensure authorities’ respect for private and family life.

The court disagreed, however, saying German authorities’ “decisions had been based on a risk of inhuman or degrading treatment, which is prohibited under absolute terms under the European Convention.”

It noted that “the parents had remained convinced during the proceedings that corporal punishment was acceptable” and that German authorities concluded “they had had no other option available to them to protect the children.”

The sect was founded by a Tennessee high school teacher in the 1970s and today is thought to have some 2,000 to 3,000 members worldwide.

The sect’s practices have run afoul of the law in the U.S. as well, including in 2000 in Connecticut where a couple belonging to the group pleaded guilty to third-degree assault and cruelty for disciplining their children with a 30-inch (76-centimetre) fiberglass rod.

In 1984, authorities raided the group in Vermont and removed 112 children on abuse allegations. A judge later ruled the raid illegal and returned the children to their parents.

Before the raids in Bavaria it had already had other confrontations with German authorities for violating laws on homeschooling their children.

In 2015 an elder of the sect was convicted in Germany of causing serious bodily injury for hitting children in his care with a 1.2-meter (four-foot) switch and sentenced to probation.

Since the raids some of the children taken had been returned to their families after growing old enough to be no longer at risk. German media have reported that other children have been returned to parents who have left the sect.

The sect has posted periodic updates online with photos of children they say have been “set free from captivity.”

The court did not say how many children remain in the care of the state.

After the raids, the German group said it had decided to relocate to the Czech Republic in an area west of Prague, and it was not immediately clear whether any of the families still live in Germany.

The group did not immediately answer an email seeking comment or post an update online.

22 mars 2018

BERLIN — Les autorités allemandes ont eu raison de retirer les enfants vivant au sein d’une secte chrétienne pour les empêcher d’être disciplinés à coups de bâton, a tranché jeudi la Cour européenne des droits de l’homme (CEDH).

Le tribunal a confirmé qu’un tel traitement constitue de la maltraitance et que les responsables n’avaient pas d’autre choix.

Les autorités bavaroises avaient perquisitionné les installations de la secte «Douze tribus» en 2013, près des villes de Deinigen et de Wörnitz, et emmené une quarantaine d’enfants âgés de 18 mois à 17 ans. Les jeunes avaient été confiés à des familles d’accueil dans la foulée d’un reportage journalistique réalisé avec des caméras cachées et qui les montrait être battus en guise de punition.

La secte n’a jamais nié infliger de tels traitements aux enfants. Elle explique plutôt sur son site internet que les enfants «désobéissants ou volontairement méchants envers les autres» reçoivent une fessée avec «un petit bâton ressemblant à un roseau, qui inflige de la douleur, mais ne cause pas de blessures».

Elle ajoute que ses enfants sont précieux et merveilleux et «nous leur donnons une fessée parce que nous les aimons».

Le tribunal de Strasbourg a statué que la secte a eu recours à une «forme de violence institutionnalisée contre les mineurs», et que même si des travailleurs sociaux étaient intervenus, «ils n’auraient pas pu protéger efficacement les enfants, puisque la discipline corporelle des enfants découlait d’un dogme inébranlable».

Le tribunal avait été saisi de l’affaire par quatre familles à qui huit enfants avaient été confisqués. Elles prétendaient que l’intervention allemande contrevenait aux lois européennes dont le but est de garantir que les autorités respecteront la vie privée et familiale.

La CEDH n’était pas d’accord. Elle a dit que les décisions allemandes «étaient basées sur un risque de traitement inhumain ou humiliant, ce qui est interdit en termes clairs par la Convention européenne».

Elle rappelle que «les parents sont demeurés convaincus pendant tout le processus que les punitions corporelles étaient acceptables». Les autorités allemandes, a dit le tribunal, «ne disposaient d’aucune autre option pour protéger les enfants».

La secte a été fondée dans les années 1970 par un enseignant du Tennessee. Elle compterait aujourd’hui entre 2000 et 3000 fidèles. Le groupe a eu plusieurs démêlés avec la justice américaine au fil des ans, dont au moins deux fois dans des affaires de maltraitance d’enfants. Cent douze enfants avaient ainsi été retirés de ses installations au Vermont en 1984, avant d’y être renvoyés par un juge.

En Allemagne, certains enfants retirés en 2013 ont été remis à leurs parents une fois assez vieux pour ne plus être en danger. La presse allemande rapporte que d’autres ont été réunis avec leurs parents quand ces derniers ont quitté la secte.

Extrait de l’Arrêts Wetjen et autres c. Allemagne et Tlapak et autres c. Allemagne – placement d’enfants appartenant au mouvement religieux des Douze Tribus

Human rights judges today endorsed German courts’ decisions to take children belonging to the Twelve Tribes Church into care.

In today’s Chamber judgments in the cases of Tlapak and Others v. Germany (nos. 11308/16 and 11344/16) and Wetjen and Others v. Germany (application nos. 68125/14 and 72204/14) the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been:

no violation of Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The cases concerned the partial withdrawal of parental authority and the taking into care of children belonging to the Twelve Tribes Church (Zwölf Stämme), living in two communities in Bavaria (Germany).

In 2012, the press reported that church members punished their children by caning. The reports were subsequently corroborated by video footage of caning filmed with a hidden camera in one of the communities.

Based on these press reports, as well as statements by former members of the church, the children living in the communities were taken into care in September 2013 by court order.

The proceedings before the European Court have been brought by four families who are members of the Twelve Tribes Church. They complain about the German courts’ partial withdrawal of their parental authority and the splitting up of their families.

The European court agreed with the German courts that the risk of systematic and regular caning of children justified withdrawing parts of the parents’ authority and taking the children into care.

Their decisions had been based on a risk of inhuman or degrading treatment, which is prohibited in absolute terms under the European Convention.

The court pointed out, moreover, that the German courts had given detailed reasons why they had had no other option available to them to protect the children. In particular, the parents had remained convinced during the proceedings that corporal punishment was acceptable and, even if they would have agreed to no caning, there had been no way of ensuring that it would not be carried out by other members of the community.

Therefore, the German courts, in fair and reasonable proceedings in which each child’s case had been looked at individually, had struck a balance between the interests of the parents and the best interests of the children.

TO SEE MORE INFORMATION click to OPEN PDF FILE: Judgments Wetjen and Others v. Germany and Tlapak and Others v. Germany – taking into care of children belonging to Twelve Tribes Church

In April 2015 Spanish TV channel La Sexta aired the first part of two with the title: Las Doce Tribus, una secta en el punto de mira por maltrato infantil que se extentiende por toda Europa.

We also had here on Question12Tribes, an extract of the second part with English subtitles which is the interview of Spanish ex-member

source of complete documentary:http://worldtube.oo.gd/las-doce-tribus-una-secta-en-el-punto-de-mira-por-maltrato-infantil/

03. Januar 2017

Jahrelang lebte die Sekte auf Gut Klosterzimmern im Kreis Donau-Ries. Bereits 2015 kündigte sie an, ins Ausland ziehen zu wollen. Nun hat sie endgültig ihre Koffer gepackt. Von Jan Kandzora

The raid on September 5th, 2013 in the Twelve Tribes community in Klosterzimmern/Deiningen and Wörnitz/Ansbach.

*How did the Twelve Tribes communities come to have a police raid?*

Background: The RTL reporter, Wolfram Kuhnigk had gone undercover in the community of the Twelve Tribes in Klosterzimmern. There, he managed to bring secretly filmed footage with cameras he had hidden and managed to smuggle out a radical education manual he had discovered there to the authorities.
Originally, the report was scheduled for a later date to be released under the new RTL series “Undercover Deutschland”. However, the recordings he had brought forward were so explosive that the authorities were informed of their content.

Here is where you can see a clip of the origional episode, in which, ex-members also have their say as to how they fought somewhat unsuccessfully for changes within this group.
http://rtlnext.rtl.de/cms/razzia-bei-sekte-12-staemme-rtl-reporter-liefert-beweise-fuer-kindesmisshandlung-1620767.html

In 2012, several ex-Tribes members had made public reports on internal practices in the sect.
http://www.focus.de/…/report-alle-haben-weggeschaut_aid…

A short time later, a family man who also left the community appeared on RTL.
http://www.rtl.de/…/12-staemme-von-uns-etwa…

There was a police operation with a group of a hundred police in the early hours of the morning. Due to the recordings made available by RTL, the children were taken into provisional custody on September 5th.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiTUqbk6aZk

Soon to follow were reports, opinions and explanations from Twelve Tribes members.
http://www.n24.de/…/sind-misshandlungsvorwuerfe…
http://www.n24.de/…/Details/t1974996/sorgerecht.html

With the raid in Germany, this became the second major raid which the Twelve Tribes members and its founder, Elbert Eugene Spriggs (of Tennessee, USA), has faced.

The first largest raid against the Twelve Tribes took place in 1984 in Island Pond (Vermont, USA), when the authorities removed 112 children from their parents and briefly removed them into state care. The children were returned shortly after, citing the constitutional rights to freedom of speech and freedom of religion.
Here are some of the discussions of this fateful event:
http://www.nytimes.com/…/children-of-sect-seized-in

After the first RTL broadcast on Twelve Tribes practices, especially in the area of their educational practices; the Twelve Tribes community initially tried to take legal action against RTL.
http://www.anwalt24.de/…/BVerfG_09_09_2013_1_BvR_2519…

An equally unsuccessful legal action was placed by an unnamed person against reporter Wolfram Kuhnigk. The investigations against him were discontinued. Shortly after the issue of the Twelve Tribes became known, individuals who are against the treatment of the children in the sect founded a Facebook group to advocate for the children.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/516262435110521/

In September, a vigil was organized and many people walked the street to advocate for the children.
http://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/…/Mahnwache-fuer…

It was at this vigil that an entrepreneur from Switzerland made his appearance and allied himself with the Twelve Tribes community in Germany.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snTVxd2IfMg
He reports regularly on his blog for the Twelve Tribes, frequently using disparaging comparisons of modern Germany with Nazi Germany. As this is reflective of the beliefs of the religious community, it doesn’t get further attention from the authorities at this time.

Meanwhile, there was an increase of public and international reporting. Here are a just a few examples:
http://www.az-online.de/…/sekte-zwoelf-staemme-dolchau…
http://www.independent.co.uk/…/in-germanys-twelve…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…/germany-twelve-tribes…
http://www.lidovky.cz/sekta-dvanact…/zpravy-domov.aspx…

The courts have confirmed that the children must remain with foster parents or in youth welfare institutions for the time being.
http://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/…/Gericht-Kinder…

Later, supporters of the Twelve Tribes brought forward a petition which demanded the children be returned to their home on the commune.
https://www.openpetition.de/…/die-kinder-der-zwoelf…

The battle for the children continues, closure of the commune school, a former sect member speaks out, Politics

The loss of parental custody for the majority of the children is provisionally maintained at this time. The parents in the sect have encouraged a letter writing campaign to the authorities and judges. On their blog, they began to regularly share letters (including those by the children involved in the case) which annoys the authorities.

In November, it was reported that two girls are missing. They were returned to Germany by the Swiss Police. The older girl returned to the commune as she is nearly the age of majority.
http://www.sueddeutsche.de/…/gemeinschaft-zwoelf…

The Alliance 90/Greens Party became active again.
The government was requested to report to the Bavarian Parliament about the background and order of events.
http://www.gruene-fraktion-bayern.de/…/aufklaerung…

Meanwhile, the socalled “supplementary school” was closed.
http://www.kostenlose-urteile.de/VG-Augsburg_Au-3-S-142…

In December 2013, the custody of two babies was returned to their parents.
https://www.juris.de/jportal/portal/page/homerl.psml…

More children began to be returned to their parents.
http://www.sueddeutsche.de/…/glaubensgemeinschaft…

The parents of the Twelve Tribes invited Germans to a round table discussion and triggered resentment as a mother began showing off the “rods” that the sect uses to “discipline” their children, as they feel fit.
http://www.br.de/…/zwoelf-staemme-gespraechsabend…

More children were removed from a Mother-Child home.
http://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/…/Zwoelf-Staemme…
The mothers and fathers and the recordings or letters from the children were reported in several video recordings that the Twelve Tribes later published.

The following are massive complaints against the authorities on the part of the sect.
http://www.n24.de/…/der-fall-der–zwoelf-staemme-.html

At around the 4 minute mark, on the subject of the Twelve Tribes, it is reported that 15 children were allowed to return to the sect.
http://www.ardmediathek.de/…/B5-aktuell/Audio-Podcast…

“Amitsa” goes public with her life story.
http://www.spiegel.de/…/zwoelf-staemme-wie-eine…

The Bayrisches Rundfunk (BR) informs us that another girl has vanished and they secured an interview that the police were unable to do. A reporter speaks with the girl who is still unable to be located.
http://www.br.de/…/zwoelf-staemme-maedchen-bayerischer…

The parents who made a public appearance on Augsburg TV reject the decisions of the court.
http://www.augsburg.tv/…/weiteres-kind-fluechtet-11_02…

Support for the Twelve Tribes, Termination of Investigations, Tragic ex-member reports, Refusal of Compulsory Education, Proceedings before the Federal Constitutional Court

The investigation of the parents of the “Twelve Tribes” faith community in Wörnitz were discontinued due to lack of evidence of specific crimes. The proceedings before Family Court continued independently from there.
http://www.sat1bayern.de/…/ermittlungen-gegen-zwoelf…/

The tragic story of a family who left the sect was published in Australia (Winter of 2013) reached Germany.
http://www.smh.com.au/…/secrets-of-the-family-20131209…

The Twelve Tribes community in Germany received support from two authors in the United States. The articles they wrote were openly published on CESNUR, where you can also find older posts by Jean Swantko Wiseman.
http://www.cesnur.org/2014/12tribes.htm

An amicable solution was reached between a set of parents and the youth welfare office were made for a 12 year old girl in Klosterzimmern. (This should not have happened IMHO and action to bring further clarity on the situation was later denied)
http://www.donau-ries-aktuell.com/zwoelf-staemme-12…/

The State Prosecutor presented the investigations of Wolfram Kuhnigk, which has now been shown by the Twelve Tribes lawyer again.
http://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/…/Zwoelf-Staemme…

BR reported on the drastic experiences of the children of the Twelve Tribes.
http://www.br.de/…/140227-quer-zwoelf-staemme-100.html

The Twelve Tribes community filed a complaint against the authorities. The allegations are false imprisonment, coercion, tresspassing…
http://www.sueddeutsche.de/…/glaubensgemeinschaft…

The “Sect Info” North Rhein Westfalen published their assessment and a review of a concerned ex-member of the Twelve Tribes which gives us no doubts that reports about the sect are true.
http://www.sekten-info-nrw.de/index.php…

Christian Reip told his story of a difficult childhood to BR Radio.
http://www.br.de/…/programmkalender/sendung791988.html

As all complaints are rejected, the Twelve TRibes announce via their lawyer that they wish to have a hearing in the Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe.
http://www.donau-ries-aktuell.com/zwoelf-staemme-wollen…/

Via members of the Twelve Tribes, we hear of motivated support in favor of the Twelve Tribes from the Czech Republic, a meeting with members of the Roma community and a demonstration in Prague.
http://euportal.parlamentnilisty.cz/…/12008-jen-v…

The older children (13 and older) who are temporarily or permanently returned home to the commune are informed they must go to school. It does not take long until parents again protest against the compulsory education law.
http://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/…/Zwoelf-Staemme…

This latest protest has consequence; an emergency motion for enforcement of compulsory education is delivered in the Bavarian Parliament.
http://www.gruene-fraktion-bayern.de/…/zwoelf-staemme….

Moving abroad, Requests and Public Relations within the Twelve Tribes, An Ex-member again describes his experiences in the sect; Urgent Motion in the Bavarian Parliament, Charges against RTL Reporter

A video is uploaded to youtube with two girls who protray the school in Ries as a place of complete disorder where they couldn’t learn.
http://www.donotlink.com/badi

In June, a notice appears that several families have moved to Austria.
http://www.n-tv.de/…/Mehrere-Zwoelf-Staemme-Famlien…
http://www.tt.com/…/mehrere-familien-der-sekte-zwölf-st…

New thematization of events in Germany appear at CESNUR (Respondants are Jean Swantko Wiseman, Holger Roehr, Edward “Isaac” Dawson, Charles E. Wiseman)
http://www.cesnur.org/2014/waco-programme.htm

Opinion from the district office in Donau-Ries
http://www.donau-ries-aktuell.com/aktuelle-informationen…/

Once again, Christian Reip portrays his experiences in detail
http://www.tagesspiegel.de/…/sekte-zwoelf…/10044034.html
http://derstandard.at/…/Zwoelf-Staemme-Sektenmitglieder…

A request to sent the Twelve Tribes children home for Pentecost (Shavuot) is rejected
http://aktuell.evangelisch.de/…/zwoelf-staemme-kinder…

Swiss Federal Court rejects appeal.
http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/…/Sektenkind…/story/16350375

A large police operation began to search for a missing Twelve Tribes girl.
http://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/…/Zwoelf-Staemme…
Der Einsatz wird von dem Rechtsanwalt der ZS kritisiert.
http://www.donau-ries-aktuell.com/rechtsanwalt-der…/

A press release from Ruth Waldmann (SPD) was issued requesting an urgent motion to the Bavarian Parliament.
http://bayernspd-landtag.de/presse/pressemitteilungen/…
https://www.bayern.landtag.de/…/0000001500/0000001777.pdf

Shortly before another broadcast by RTL, the Twelve Tribes lawyer, L., holds a press conference. He issues justification that the corporal punishment of children in the sect (“Discipline”) belong to an overall concept. Also, Wolfram Kuhnigk made misrepresentations and falsified data in his footage. This is the second time he has been thusly charged by the Twelve Tribes’ lawyer in Germany.
http://www.augsburg.tv/?search=zwölf+stämme

RTL reported again on the Twelve Tribes. Allegations in this report relate to possible clandestine employment. (Specifically child labor laws being broken.)
http://www.rtl.de/…/undercover-deutschland-sekte-12…

Wolfram Kuhnigk commented on the allegations.
http://www.donau-ries-aktuell.com/rtl-reporter-wolfram…/

The prosecution wants to review the TV reports.
http://www.br.de/…/privatschule-zwoelf-staemme-100.html

The Twelve Tribes’ lawyer criticized the conduct of the District Court:
http://www.donau-ries-aktuell.com/zwoelf-staemme…/