On December 11, 2025, the Berlin Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Berlin-Brandenburg Badminton Association signed a cooperation agreement in order to be able to respond more effectively and emphatically to prejudice-motivated or significant crimes that can be attributed to the phenomenon of “hate crime”. In addition, the agreement serves to support and advise the Badminton Association Berlin-Brandenburg eV in its work in connection with violence prevention, child and youth protection as well as anti-Semitism and any form of group-related misanthropy.
On the part of the Berlin public prosecutor’s office, this was signed by the senior public prosecutor Jörg Raupach and the head of the hate crime central office, senior public prosecutor Ines Karl, and on behalf of the Badminton Association Berlin-Brandenburg eV by the vice president Mr. Torsten Stommel and Ms. Eva-Lotta Blankenstein from the child protection team.
On the basis of the cooperation agreement, it is intended to ensure that relevant incidents of which the Badminton Association Berlin-Brandenburg eV becomes aware are immediately reported to the Berlin public prosecutor’s office in the future. The Badminton Association Berlin-Brandenburg eV will continue to examine such incidents internally and then forward cases that are considered significant and significant to the Berlin public prosecutor’s office.
Prompt and comprehensive transmission of the information required for criminal prosecution not only aims to avoid legal vacuums. The rapid integration is also intended to prevent loss of evidence and ensure that those injured receive the necessary support in criminal prosecution.
After a corresponding cooperation agreement was concluded with the Berlin Football Association in May 2024, the public prosecutor contacted numerous other sports associations to see whether there was also interest in such a cooperation. Since then, corresponding agreements have already been concluded with eight other associations. Coordination discussions are currently taking place with other associations in order to conclude further cooperation agreements.
To explain:
Hate crime crimes are those that are directed against a person or a group of people because of their attributed political stance, attitude or commitment or because of their nationality, ethnicity, skin color, religious affiliation, their worldview, their social status, because of a psychological or physical disability or impairment, sexual orientation or gender identity or because of their external appearance. This includes cases where the act in this context is directed against an institution or thing or an object.
