Rammstein's summer tour under pressure over sexual assault allegations

Associations for the defense of women and political leaders are mobilizing to force the cancellation of concerts by Rammstein in Switzerland after the accusations of sexual assault brought against the singer of the German metal group. The Swiss Socialist Youth (JS) launched a petition on Thursday evening to cancel the concerts scheduled for June 17 and 18 in Bern, the Swiss capital, although the lawyers of Till Lindemann - singer and lyricist of the group - formally deny the accusations. by several young women since May.

"These accusations of sexual assault must be taken seriously! The only responsible thing to do in this context is to cancel the concerts, ”said Thomas Bruchez, vice-president of the JS at the Keystone-ATS agency. Saturday morning, the petition - widely shared by the Swiss press - had collected more than 5,200 signatures out of the 7,500 targeted. The Swiss Socialist Women, the feminist organization for peace cfd and the NGO against violence against women Brava also support the initiative.

In the columns of the Blick tabloid on Friday, the Bernese committee of the feminist strike collective demanded that the organizer give up the concerts and said it was thinking about a possible action in front of the Wankdorf stadium, where the sold-out crowds are to take place. two performances.

Known in particular for their number of songs with very raw sexual references, and their occasional polemics on the Holocaust, Rammstein is the German-speaking group which sells the most albums in the world. Its worldwide success is also based on the excess of its lively concerts with a lot of pyrotechnics, and the imposing physical presence of Till Lindemann with his deep bass voice.

The case began at the end of May with the testimony of a 24-year-old Irish woman accusing the singer of having drugged and sexually assaulted her after a concert the same month in Lithuania. Other young women then testified, all describing more or less the same scenario. The groupies would have been spotted in the front rows of the concerts, filmed or photographed so that Till Lindemann could make his choice, before for some of them being invited backstage for parties. Some would then have been drugged before being attacked by the 60-year-old singer.

“On social networks, in particular Instagram, Twitter and YouTube, serious accusations were made by various women against our client,” write Berlin lawyers Simon Bergmann and Christian Schertz. "It has thus been repeatedly claimed that women were drugged with GHB or alcohol at Rammstein concerts, in order to allow our client to perform sexual acts on them", add- they. “These accusations are invariably false,” the lawyers assure us. “We will immediately take legal action for all such allegations,” they threaten.