Case #0034
Christine Tinschert

Christine Tinschert

General practitioner · practice for Traditional Chinese Medicine and energy medicine  ·  Hamburg, Germany
Proceedings discontinued under Section 153a StPO against a 3,000 € payment; no conviction.
Case Report — Documentation

Type of persecution

  • State criminal prosecution over a single mask-exemption certificate
  • Search of the practice

Accusation

  • Issuing a single (!) false health certificate under Section 278 of the German Criminal Code (StGB)
  • Specifically: one (!) mask-exemption certificate dated 6 October 2020

What actually happened?

On 6 October 2020 I issued a mask-exemption certificate to a patient of mine, to the best of my knowledge and conscience. I questioned him in detail and carefully documented his complaints.

The patient was checked by the Federal Police at Hanover Central Station. As he showed no visible breathing difficulties, the officer judged the certificate to be forged and confiscated it.

On 22 August 2022 the Hanover District Court issued a search warrant for my practice; the search was carried out on 8 November 2022 by the Harburg District Court. On 28 June 2023 a penalty order for 60 day-fine units of 100 € was served on my lawyer and me. We lodged an objection.

On 28 April 2026, at the main hearing before the Harburg District Court, I was given a choice: either to continue the proceedings with the involvement of an expert – the court’s choice was Prof. Dr. Bandelow – and of my patient, who currently lives abroad, or to have the proceedings discontinued under Section 153a of the Code of Criminal Procedure, against a payment of 3,000 € plus legal costs.

Since my health had been affected by the four-year pending proceedings and my financial means are limited, I consented to option two with a heavy heart. I was able to donate the money to a child and youth welfare organisation rather than – as the public prosecutor had wished – letting it flow into the state treasury.

In accordance with the Declaration of Geneva, I merely did my medical work, and I do not feel that I have been treated fairly.

— Christine Tinschert

Current Status

  • Discontinuation of the criminal proceedings under Section 153a of the Code of Criminal Procedure
  • A payment of 3,000 € in favour of a youth-welfare organisation
  • Plus assumption of the legal costs
Impact — Documentation

Professional impact

  • No professional consequences – she continues her work unchanged in her own private practice
  • She had already given up her statutory-health-insurance accreditation of her own accord in 1994

Financial impact

  • A 3,000 € payment plus legal costs

Personal impact

  • Panic attacks
  • Herpes zoster
  • Trigeminal neuralgia
  • Bronchitis
Chronological course

Chronology

6 October 2020:
On 6 October 2020 I issued a mask-exemption certificate to a patient of mine, to the best of my knowledge and conscience. I questioned him in detail and carefully documented his complaints. The patient was checked by the Federal Police at Hanover Central Station. As he had no breathing difficulties, the officer judged the certificate to be forged and confiscated it
22 August 2022:
The Hanover District Court issued a search warrant for my practice premises
8 November 2022:
Execution of the practice search by the Harburg District Court
28 June 2023:
A penalty order with a fine of 60 day-fine units of 100 € was served on my lawyer, Mr Künnemann, and me. We lodged an objection.
28 April 2026:
Main hearing at the Harburg District Court; the court gave me a choice between continuing the proceedings with the involvement of an expert (Prof. Dr. Bandelow) and the hearing of my patient, who currently lives abroad – or a discontinuation under Section 153a StPO against a payment of 3,000 € plus legal costs
28 April 2026:
Since my health had been affected by the four-year pending proceedings and my financial means are limited, I consented to option two with a heavy heart.
Note on responsibility

The information in this case report comes from the affected person themselves. The editorial team verifies whether a criminal or professional prosecution has taken place; it cannot verify the factual accuracy of every single statement. Responsibility for the correctness of the account lies with the respective author.

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Name
Christine Tinschert
Specialty
General practitioner · practice for Traditional Chinese Medicine and energy medicine
Special Functions
Attended several TCM schools in Hamburg, Berlin and Vienna, completing the B-Diploma in TCM & moxibustion in Vienna in 1994 and the expert diploma in “Psychosomatic Energetics” in 2006.
Position
Owner of a small private practice for Traditional Chinese Medicine and energy medicine in Hamburg-Harburg. Practising since 1983 – initially at the internal-medicine department of Buxtehude Hospital (three years), then at the UKE Eppendorf, internal-medicine department, as well as locum work; in her own practice since 1994.
Location
Hamburg, Germany
Age
72 years
Practicing since
1994
Persecuted since
22. August 2022 (Durchsuchungsbeschluss meiner Praxis); zugrundeliegendes Maskenattest vom 6. Oktober 2020
Documented since
Jun 17, 2026
Status
Proceedings discontinued under Section 153a StPO against a 3,000 € payment; no conviction.
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