During the Bundestag debate on the agenda item “Combating Sexualised Abuse” Left Party MP Kathrin Gebel delivered a highly emotional speech at the podium on Friday. While discussing the Epstein files, she abruptly recounted her own encounter: “I was 17, he was 34, he lured me into his apartment with the pretext of watching a movie with classmates. He had previously worked at my school. It was late, I was alone, and I didn’t know how I would get home. When I arrived, the classmates were not there”. Her voice faltered and she shed tears before continuing calmly with further remarks about the Epstein scandal.
After her speech, Vice‑Presiding officer Omid Nouripour of the Greens thanked everyone who had helped make such an emotional address possible. The session, titled “No Turning a Blind Eye at the Expense of the Victims – Exposing and Combating Violence Against Women, Sexual Abuse, and Networks of Power Abuse” was added to the agenda at the request of the Green caucus.
