The son of Michael Schumacher's alleged blackmailer was dragged off camera by a lawyer as he conducted an interview with German TV about his father's case.
The trial of three individuals accused of orchestrating a blackmail plot against the Schumacher family has begun at Wuppertal District Court, Germany.
Schumacher’s former bodyguard, Markus Fritsche, has been accused of masterminding an extortion bid against the seven-time world champion's family. He is on trial with his son, Daniel Lins, and his friend, Yilmaz Tozturkan.
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Fritsche, 53, is accused of betraying the trust of Michael’s wife, Corinna, and amassing photos and extensive personal medical files which contain sensitive details about the former Formula One driver's medical condition.
The alleged photos are said to be of Schumacher both before and after an accident in 2013, when he was left with life-altering injuries after falling on a rock while skiing off-piste in the French Alps.
As per the Mirror, the sensitive information was contained on four USB sticks and two hard drives that Fritsche took from the Schumacher's home upon being told to leave.
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Fritsche and two alleged collaborators are accused of threatening to release private materials unless a substantial payment of £12 million was made in exchange for keeping the sensitive information private.
Speaking in an interview outside the courtroom this week, one of the defendant's sons conducted an interview with German broadcaster Welt.
The person in question, named by publication BILD as Noah L, called the alleged extortion plot a "sales pitch" before being pulled away by a lawyer.
"Blackmail is when I threaten someone with violence. But if I go to you now and say, 'I have something here, do you want to buy it,' that is not blackmail," he said, as quoted by the Daily Mail.
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"In my opinion it was a sales pitch - agreed with lawyers and contracts. In my opinion it was not blackmail."
After saying he believed the pre-trial detention of his father was "a bit excessive", the family's lawyer, Hartmut Moyzio, could be seen dragging the son out of frame before being shoved down a hallway.
Speaking in court, Schumacher's manager Sabine Kehm said she was the one who was called about the blackmail plot.
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"I got a call, and it was a number we didn’t recognise, so at first we didn’t answer as we don’t usually to unrecognised numbers," she said.
"But it kept calling and calling so in the end I answered, and it was a man who said he had pictures of Michael, he said that if the family didn’t want them published onto the dark web he could help.
"He said he was a go between, and we would have to pay €15 million, he said the money was for the pictures and his go between service."
Topics: Michael Schumacher, Formula 1
Jack Kenmare