After the Olympic scandal surrounding modern quintet athlete Annika Schleu and national coach Kim Reisner, the Potsdam Public Prosecutor’s Office closed its investigation into animal cruelty. According to a statement posted on the authority’s website, the defendants had only a short-term impact on horse riding at the Tokyo Summer Games and were in an exceptional physical and psychological condition during the Olympic competition.

“The competition horse was not injured either.” Schleu and Raisner have to pay a sum of money for a charitable organization. The Public Prosecutor’s Office did not want to provide any information about the amount for privacy and data protection reasons. The investigation will only be closed when the two of you have paid.

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Schlio’s horse had refused to participate in the Olympics in Tokyo, and Reisner had asked a tearful Berliner to use the whip with the phrase “Hit it right!” The German Animal Welfare Association had filed a criminal complaint against Schleu and trainer Raisner after the incidents. The investigation was carried out due to the defendant’s place of residence in Potsdam.

It added that “in light of the negligible impact of the crime and against the backdrop of ongoing media reports, it can be assumed that the initial proceedings had a sufficient impact on defendants who had not yet been represented under criminal law.” “Therefore, and also due to the planned future launch of the modern pentathlon without equestrian sports, there is no risk of recurrence.”

“The hiring was done with the consent of our client,” said Raisner’s attorney Simon Bergman. It is not related to the admission of guilt. The decisive factor was that the lengthy investigative and legal process that would burden everyone involved could be avoided. This negates the guilt charge, so that Raisner can continue to consider himself innocent. (dpa)