MOSCOW, November 11. /TASS/. German journalist Hajo Seppelt, who recently admitted that his allegations about Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov and the alleged system of bribing judges in the International Fencing Federation (FIE) were groundless, lied to such an extent that even the United States and Germany called him out on it, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Monday.
Zakharova quipped on her Telegram channel that Seppelt’s admission that his allegations against Usmanov were false shows just how "clean" and "honest" German journalism is.
Usmanov's press service reported to TASS earlier in the day that German journalist Seppelt had acknowledged that his allegations concerning Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov and the alleged system of bribing judges in the International Fencing Federation (FIE) were not true.
Commenting on Seppelt's confession, Zakharova recalled that the German journalist has been "clinging to the lone issue" of doping abuse in sports since 1997.
"When his dark portrayals of doping abuse in East Germany ran their course, he was glad to shift his attention to the Russians: he started making films, taking part in [various] court cases, trying to discredit Russia’s athletes in every possible way," Zakharova said.
"In his so-called anti-Russian ‘endeavors’ he was by the way actively supported by the German authorities, who, meanwhile, have been blatantly violating the rights of Russian journalists," she continued. "At that time, he worked leaning upon his US protectionists."
"However, he went so far off the rails with his lies this time that they were refuted even by the United States and Germany as well," she said. "Finally, the slanderer has been forced to own up to his cynical deceit."
In August 2024, the nationwide German TV channel ARD published two articles and a video report on fencing competitions at the Paris Olympics in which Seppelt accused Usmanov, who had voluntarily suspended himself as FIE president in early 2022 due to EU sanctions, of, among other things, setting up a system of bribing judges in this sport.
According to Usmanov press service’s statement that had been released earlier in the day: "Seppelt signed a personal statement acknowledging the termination of illegal actions against Usmanov. With this document, Seppelt confirmed his commitment not to spread false statements made in his report on the German TV channel ARD in August 2024 and expressed his readiness to bear responsibility if he violated his obligations."
"The falsity of the insinuations made by Mr. Seppelt on ARD was so obvious that in the end, this journalist and the broadcaster made the only right decision: the broadcaster recognized the injunction, and Seppelt signed a letter containing a pledge to stop illegal actions," Usmanov’s lawyer, Joachim Steinhoefel stated.
"Someone who is unable to provide proof of defamation has no choice but to admit that honest and informed journalism was never his goal," Steinhoefel said. "In fact, he merely sought to discredit the International Fencing Federation, its President Alisher Usmanov, and all representatives of this sport."
On October 25, the German broadcaster Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), which published Seppelt's charges on the ARD TV channel, conceded that this content was inaccurate. Usmanov filed a criminal complaint with the Cologne prosecutor’s office against Seppelt for spreading defamatory statements.