シューマッハ家恐喝事件　主犯ら男３人を訴追　独検察

【ベルリンＡＦＰ＝時事】ドイツ検察は２５日、フォーミュラワン（Ｆ１、Ｆ１世界選手権）の伝説的ドライバー、ミハエル・シューマッハ氏（５５）の家族を恐喝した罪などで、今年逮捕された男３人を訴追すると発表した。（写真は、フォーミュラワン〈Ｆ１、Ｆ１世界選手権〉の伝説的ドライバー、ミハエル・シューマッハ氏〈資料写真〉）
　検察当局によると、主犯は独西部ブッパータール出身の男（５３）で、現役時代にＦ１で通算７度の年間優勝を誇ったシューマッハ氏の家族にプライベートな写真や動画を公開すると脅して１５００万ユーロ（約２４億円）を要求していた。
　主犯の男は恐喝未遂の罪で最長１５年の懲役を科せられる。主犯の息子（３０）は父親から追跡不可能なメールアドレスの作成を依頼されたため、恐喝の共犯者として訴追されている。
　写真や動画は、シューマッハ氏が２０１３年に仏アルプスでのスキー中に事故に遭い、頭部に重傷を負う前とその後の画像が含まれていたという。
　これらの画像は、シューマッハ家の警備員として働いていた別の男（５３）が入手したものだとされている。この男は画像を数万ユーロの価格で販売していたとみられ、恐喝未遂とプライバシー侵害の共犯として懲役刑を受ける可能性がある。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/09/26-17:04）

German prosecutors said Wednesday they were bringing charges against three men arrested this year over a blackmail plot targeting the family of Formula One legend Michael Schumacher.
They said the chief suspect, a 53-year-old man from the western city of Wuppertal, had threatened to release private photos and videos and demanded 15 million euros ($16.7 million) from Schumacher's family.
These allegedly included images of the seven-time Formula One champion before and after the 2013 skiing accident in the French Alps which left him with a serious brain injury.
Schumacher, 55, has not been seen in public since.
The images allegedly came from another 53-year-old, from the western town of Wuelfrath, who worked as a security guard for the Schumacher family until 2021.
He is suspected of having sold the material for a five figure sum and could face a considerable jail term on charges of being an accomplice to attempted blackmail and breach of privacy.
Prosecutors say the chief suspect rang an employee of the Schumacher family several times in June this year to demand the money.
He allegedly threatened to leak the images onto the so-called dark net if money was not paid.
The chief suspect faces charges of attempted blackmail with a maximum jail sentence of up to 15 years, although prosecutors say the punishment could be reduced as the threat was not followed through.
The Wuppertal man's 30-year-old son has been charged with being an accomplice to blackmail, as his father had asked him to create an untraceable email address.
This was used to send the Schumacher family samples of the blackmail material, prosecutors said.
The family alerted authorities in Switzerland, where Schumacher has been cared for at his family home since the accident.
Swiss investigators traced the plot to Germany through the phone number used to call the family.