On April 4, 2023, I was released from pretrial detention after 279 days in Stuttgart-Stammheim prison. Today marks the third anniversary of that day. The trial is over — what remains is €19.53 in input tax related to a dog mat and a perfume atomizer.
The Stuttgart tax office, the regional tax authority, and the Ministry of Finance continue to ignore the ruling of the Stuttgart Regional Court. To this day, nearly €600,000 of my assets remain in the hands of the tax authorities and must be recovered through further legal action.
In difficult times, I’ve always reminded myself: this will pass. Night turns into day. Rain gives way to sunshine. That perspective gave me strength and endurance.
A few days ago, I made the difficult decision to cancel my return flight to Germany and not spend the summer in Europe.
My intuition tells me: something bigger than 2020 may be ahead of us.
What matters to me is this:
This is not about everyone leaving.
And it’s not about one path being better than another.
Each person is at a different point in life.
And each of us makes decisions based on our own circumstances.
My decision is mine.
And your path is yours.
Both can exist side by side.
From my perspective, what matters is that each of us consciously chooses our place — and has the courage to walk new paths.