Criminal complaint filed against German Chancellor Merz, Foreign Minister Wadephul for aiding Israel's genocide in Gaza
Group of German lawyers file criminal complaint against current and former officials for approving arms and military equipment exports used against Palestinian civilians in Gaza
German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz gestures as he holds a joint press conference with Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez (not seen) following their meeting at the Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain on September 18, 2025.
BERLIN
A group of lawyers filed a criminal complaint against German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and his key ministers on Friday, accusing them of aiding and abetting Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
During a Berlin press conference, lawyer Nadija Samour from the European Legal Support Center (ELSC) announced that their criminal complaint also names former Chancellor Olaf Scholz and former Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock as accomplices.
"The genocide against the Palestinian people has been live-streamed for almost two years. It is now time for justice and accountability," she said, pointing out that current and previous government officials are complicit in genocide, primarily through their approval of weapons exports that were used against Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
The complaint specifically accused seven current and former government officials, including current Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who, as members of Germany's Federal Security Council, approved arms exports to Israel despite international warnings about war crimes and ethnic cleansing taking place in Gaza.
The previous German coalition government, led by Social Democrat Olaf Scholz, approved over €485 million (approximately $570 million) in arms and military equipment between October 2023 and May 2025.
The new coalition government headed by conservative Merz, which took office in May, continued this policy, approving additional arms shipments to Israel worth nearly €4 million ($4.7 million) in its first month in office and through June 10, 2025, according to official figures.
While Merz announced last month that Berlin will no longer approve new weapon exports that can be used in Gaza, he did not pledge to stop the delivery of weapons and equipment that were already approved before.
In the criminal complaint filed with the Federal Prosecutor's Office, top managers of several German weapons companies were also accused of aiding and abetting Israel's crimes against humanity and genocide in Gaza.
The complaint named the previous and current CEOs of German armaments company RENK Group AG, which manufactures components, including spare parts for Israeli Merkava tanks. Also included were top executives from Rolls-Royce's Solutions, which produces diesel engines for Israel's battle tanks, and Dynamit Nobel Defence, which manufactures anti-tank weapons reportedly used in Gaza.
