Michael Schumacher’s wife, Corinna, has made a rare public statement after three men were convicted following a blackmail plot over the Formula 1 legend’s health secrets.
The men, one of whom is Schumacher’s former bodyguard, Markus Fritsche, were sentenced last week after hard drives containing confidential pictures, videos and medical records were stolen from a computer. Yilmaz Tozturkan, 53, and IT expert son Daniel Lins, 30, were also involved but denied blackmail, claiming that they were offering the Schumacher family a ‘business deal’.
Seven-time F1 champion Schumacher hasn’t been seen in public since a horrific skiing accident in 2013 left him with serious brain injuries. His family have worked tirelessly to keep the German motorsport icon’s medical condition private, with only small pieces of information filtering out during the 12 years since.
The blackmail trial, which took place in Germany, heard that more than 1,500 images, videos and confidential records were downloaded from a computer and given to Fritsche. He’s claimed to have passed them to Tozturkan, who then said that he’d ‘upload them onto the dark web’ unless the Schumacher family paid money.
Prosecutors in the German city of Wuppertal called for Tozturkan, who’s currently in jail on an unrelated crime, to be given three years. The Schumacher family, however, had been asking for five years for what they saw as an ‘ultimate betrayal’.
His son, Lins, was given a suspended sentence of six months while Fritsche received two years, also suspended. Corinna and her family have hit out at the sentences given, labelling them ‘far too lenient’.
“We have appealed against what we consider to be the far too lenient sentence for Mr F,” a statement read on Monday. “In my opinion, he was the mastermind behind this. What still shocks me most is the massive breach of trust. He should receive a punishment that deters any potential copycats.”
The Schumachers’ lawyer, Thilo Damm, also said that the sentences were too lenient and confirmed their plans to appeal the decision. “We do not agree with everything the court said. You can rest assured that we will exhaust all legal possibilities at our disposal,” he added.
Damm also raised concerns over one hard drive which is still missing, despite multiple searches of the defendants’ properties. “We don’t know where the missing hard drive is,” he acknowledged. “I don’t have a crystal ball but there is the possibility of another threat through the backdoor.”
The father and son had confessed to most of the charges, with Tozturkan telling told the court that what he’d done was ‘very, very disgusting’. He also admitted: “I realised that on the second day in prison. I will answer for it. I am very sorry and ashamed. I will take responsibility for what I have done.”
During his confession, Tozturkan said that he received two hard drives Fritsche, who was accused of passing the sensitive files for a ‘five-figure sum’.
The mystery surrounding Schumacher’s health continues. Only close friends are allowed to visit the family’s £50million home in Gland, Switzerland, with the 56-year-old requiring round-the-clock care.
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