Berlin, July 9 (dpa/GNA) – A Berlin court has imposed a fine of on the head of a German-Arab school in Berlin, who is accused of making a false allegation of a violent attack at an underground station, a court spokeswoman confirmed on Thursday.
The Tiergarten District Court, ordered headteacher Hudhaifa Al-Mashhadani, to pay a total of €17,100 ($20,000), after prosecutors concluded their investigation into the incident, which took place about eight months ago.
The judicial authorities said Al-Mashhadani made a false statement to the police in November 2025, claiming he had been struck by a man and nearly pushed in front of an underground train at a station in Berlin’s Neukölln district. The court spokeswoman said the complaint triggered a preliminary investigation against a 30-year-old suspect, even though the man had “merely made a relatively harmless hand movement” towards Al-Mashhadani whilst boarding the train.
The investigation into the suspect was dropped, due to a lack of sufficient grounds for suspicion. The spokeswoman said Al-Mashhadani’s lawyer has appealed the penalty order, meaning the case is expected to be heard in court. Under German law, penalty orders are used to resolve cases where no severe penalties are expected. Al-Mashhadani did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In an earlier statement to dpa, the press office of the German-Arab Ibn Khaldun School said, he had “full confidence in the procedures under the rule of law, and in the competent authorities investigating the matter.”
The headteacher is known as a critic of Islamist networks and for campaigning against anti-Semitism. He has received several awards for his work.
GNA