The defendants Jean-Marie Jacoby and Peter Freitag were not present in person to receive the verdict. But ultimately, there was no direct verdict. The judge decided to grant the request of the two defendants to ask the Constitutional Court for a verdict on the question of whether the government’s Covid-19 laws, which the defendants are accused of having violated, were compatible with the Grand Duchy’s constitution.
During the trial, the two defendants repeatedly stressed that they did not break any laws during the protests. They argued that they do not recognise the Covid-19 laws as they are “unconstitutional” and “make people sick”. For this reason, the defendants explained, they did not wear face masks during the protests, did not respect social distancing, and participated in gatherings that brought together more people than were legally allowed at the time.
For now, the case is thus handed over to the Constitutional Court. The Justice of the Peace in charge of the case took this decision, as it is not within his authority to judge whether the Covid-19 laws are constitutional or not. It was not specified how long it will take until a judgement can be pronounced in this case. It should also be noted that in Luxembourg, a Justice of the Peace does not sentence defendants to prison but rather to the payment of small fines.
However, Jacoby and Freitag were acquitted on one charge. Specifically, the accusation that by playing loud music during the protests, they had violated the police regulations of the municipality of Luxembourg City.
