A member of the German armed forces has been sentenced to prison for a minimum of six months for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19 during the pandemic.

A German newspaper, Berliner Zeitung, reports that Jan Reiners, a Bundeswehr soldier who refused COVID vaccinations, was imprisoned on July 12, 2024.

Despite the fact the vaccine mandate has ended, Reiners will stay in prison for at least six months and is also expected to pay a thousands of euros in fines.

According to his superiors, Jan Reiners was an exemplary servicemember who served his country for 12 years.

Igor Chudov reports: His problems started in 2021 when Bundeswehr’s careerist generals rushed to mandate Covid vaccine for the troops:

In November 2021, the then Minister of Defense Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer had the Corona vaccination requirement/toleration requirement introduced. The FAZ newspaper reported that “vaccination refusal in the troops is now endangering service operations” and that the “Bundeswehr is the first institution in Germany to introduce a general vaccination requirement.”

This is the picture of the above-mentioned Defense minister:

The soldiers were not given any time to think about this requirement:

Reiners remembers it well: “That was loudly announced to us at the assembly point. They said: Corona vaccination is now mandatory. To all soldiers who have not yet been vaccinated against Corona: If you are not vaccinated by 1 p.m., we will accuse you of disobeying orders. That means three years in prison. Get out of here!”

How can anyone develop “informed consent” when rushed under such orders? Please tell me.

The order was illegal and contravened German law:

“The order for Covid vaccination is inadmissible” – Reiner’s lawyer Edgar Siemund, an expert in military law and retired reserve lieutenant, says, “the order for Covid vaccination is inadmissible.” Three areas of responsibility overlap here. Specifically, it concerns the relationship of responsibility between superiors and soldiers, between doctors and soldiers/patients, and between doctors and employers. Let us first consider the responsibility between superiors and soldiers. Paragraph 17a (2) of the Soldiers Act states: “The soldier must only tolerate medical measures against his will if they 1. serve to prevent or combat communicable diseases or 2. serve to determine his fitness for service or employment.” The vaccination did not protect against transmission of the virus at any time. But that’s not all. The relevant regulation here is not the law mentioned, but the Bundeswehr’s central service regulation A-840/8, explains Siemund. It is precisely this that regulates the authority of superiors when it comes to vaccinations and prophylactic measures. “There is nothing in this service regulation that says that an order to vaccinate can be given.”

Despite all that, the brave soldier Jan Reiners refused the illegal order and was made a scapegoat for it. He lost his Army position and his income:

Today, the former Lance Corporal lives on citizen’s income. “They took everything away from me,” he says. “German army driver’s license, military service ID, I was no longer allowed to go to the barracks just like that, I was treated like a serious criminal.”

Jan Reiners, a German Hero

Jan Reiners, a soldier with a long service history, is a hero: he refused an illegal order. All he wanted was to reject the poison, remain a healthy, battle-ready soldier, and stay ready to defend his country.

Instead, he was discharged and, after exhausting his appeals, is now going to prison for 40 days. After that, his incarceration will continue as he gets six more months for refusing to pay an illegal fine:

But there are more prison sentences pending.

Sergeant Alexander Bittner reported by phone: “I was given six months probation and a €2,500 fine.” Because he did not pay the money for over a year, his probation has now been revoked. That means he has to go to prison again – for six months. He knows at least ten soldiers who experienced the same thing but paid the fine instead of going to prison, says Bittner.

Jan Reiners lost his career and will lose many months of his life languishing in jail. But Pvt. Reiners kept his health and principles and proved his bravery. Ironically, he will stay imprisoned even as the Corona vaccination orders have been lifted.

As ridiculous as his incarceration in 2024 is, it reminds us that brave people who put principles ahead of their careers exist everywhere.