Writer Yascha Mounk suspended from German newspaper amid allegations

Following allegations of sexual assault lodged on social media, German-American writer and political scientist Yascha Mounk has been suspended from the editorial board of the weekly German newspaper Die Zeit.

The Atlantic magazine in the United States had previously announced that it was suspending its relationship with Mounk, a frequent writer for the publication as well as a professor at Johns Hopkins University.

A journalist in the United States had publicly accused Mounk of sexual assault in a post to X (formerly Twitter). Mounk has flatly denied the allegations in a brief statement that he repeated to dpa on Thursday.

"I am aware of the horrendous allegation against me. It is categorically untrue," he said.

A spokeswoman for Die Zeit, which is based in Hamburg, told dpa on Thursday that the newspaper is hoping that the allegations can be investigated quickly.

"We are aware of the accusations against Yascha Mounk. We reacted as soon as we became aware of them and accepted his proposal to suspend his position on the editorial board of Die Zeit until the matter has been clarified," she said, adding that "Mounk denies the allegations made against him."

Die Zeit's editorial board advises the newspaper's top editor, management and owners on journalistic matters. It was created in 2017.

Mounk, who was born in Munich in 1982, was only appointed to the editorial board of Die Zeit on April 1, 2023.

The board also includes sociologist Jutta Allmendinger, businesswoman and lobbyist Nicola Leibinger-Kammüller, Economist editor-in-chief Zanny Minton Beddoes and writer Florian Illies.

The German translation of Mounk's most recent book, "The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time," is scheduled to be published later this month.

The book's German publisher, Klett-Cotta, told dpa that the book will be published as planned.