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Till Lindemann in concert with Rammstein, at the Wacken Open Air festival, the 1er August 2013. CARSTEN REHDER, DPA, AFP
Calls for a boycott of the concerts of the German group are multiplying, while several women have declared to have been drugged and abused by the singer Till Lindemann. Claims rejected by the musician’s lawyers who have announced that they are preparing legal proceedings.
ociations for the defense of women and political leaders are mobilizing to force the cancellation of concerts by Rammstein in Switzerland aftercharges of ault brought against the singer of the German metal band. The Swiss Socialist Youth (JS) launched on Thursday evening a petition to cancel the concerts scheduled for June 17 and 18 in Bernthe Swiss capital, although the lawyers of Till Lindemann – singer and lyricist of the group – formally deny the accusations made by several young women since May.
“These accusations of ault must be taken seriously! The only responsible thing to do in this context is to cancel the concerts., says Thomas Bruchez, vice-president of the JS at the Keystone-ATS agency. Saturday morning, the petition – widely shared by the Swiss press – had collected more than 5,200 signatures out of the 7,500 targeted. The Swiss Socialist Women, the feminist organization for peace cfd and the NGO against violence against women Brava also support the initiative.
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In the columns of the tabloid Blick Friday, the Bernese committee of the feminist strike collective demanded that the organizer give up the concerts and said it was thinking about a possible action in front of the Wankdorf stadium, where the two performances are to take place, sold out.
Freedom of speech
Known in particular for their number of songs with very raw references, and their occasional Holocaust polemics, Rammstein is the German-speaking band that sells the most albums in the world. Its planetary success is also based on the excess of its animated concerts with a lot of pyrotechnicsand the imposing physical presence of Till Lindemann with his deep b voice.
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The case began at the end of May with the testimony of a 24-year-old Irish woman accusing the singer of drugging and ly aulting her following a concert the same month in Lithuania. Other young women then testified, all describing more or less the same scenario. The groupies would have been spotted in the front rows of the concerts, filmed or photographed so that Till Lindemann could make his choice, before for some of them being invited backstage for parties. Some would then have been drugged before being attacked by the 60-year-old singer.
“On social networks, in particular Instagram, Twitter and YouTube, serious accusations have been made by various women against our client”write the Berlin lawyers Simon Bergmann and Christian Schertz. “It has thus been claimed on several occasions that women were drugged with GHB or alcohol at Rammstein concerts, in order to allow our client to perform acts on them”they add. “These accusations are invariably false”ure the lawyers.“We will immediately take legal action for all such allegations”they threaten.