Numerous employees of the Swabian health office in Aichbach-Friedberg protested against the politically motivated transfer of the head of the authority, public health officer Friedrich Pürner, to the regional health office.
Pürner had posted on Twitter on November 3, 2020: “According to Kant, everything has either a price or dignity. I choose dignity! I gladly pay the price. Doctors must not remain silent. Never!”
In an open letter, Pürner’s colleagues now demand that the civil servant be reinstated as head of the health department in the district of Aichach-Friedberg. On November 10, 2020, the document had been signed by 200 doctors from all over Germany.
The letter from his colleagues states that the transfer is an “unacceptable authoritarian attempt” to “suppress legitimate medical-scientific discussions that are particularly necessary in the current situation”. The extremely short-term transfer – one week – indicates that the aim is to set an example with a deterrent effect. “This procedure is unworthy of a free democratic state in every respect,” write the staff.
