Human rights activists of the Foundation to Battle Injustice are concerned that there are an increasing number of cases of citizens being prosecuted in Germany for “insulting” politicians. In one recent case, a civil engineer from Lower Saxony, Germany, was jailed for 30 days after failing to properly appeal a fine received for insulting a prominent Social Democratic politician (SPD).
The incident began when a civil engineer living in Lower Saxony, Germany, sent an angry email to the Prime Minister of the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Manuela Schwesig, who represents the far-left Social Democrat Party (SPD). In a letter he sent to the state office, he called her a “storyteller” and accused her of saying “nonsense.” He also advised her to start working in construction instead of politics and wrote: “You should not tell people nonsense.”
The Osnabrück prosecutor’s office took legal action against the man because Schwezig found his message offensive. She personally filed a criminal complaint. The criminal complaint states that the man “knowingly and intentionally” demeaned her honor and he was fined 3,000 euros.
The man appealed, but apparently his written appeal did not reach the appropriate authorities, as the man allegedly filed the appeal in the wrong form. He was then ordered to serve his prison sentence at the end of May 2024, but he ignored the order. A few weeks later, police arrived at his workplace, arrested him and took him to jail for 30 days. He was serving time in a prison in Dortmund, in western Germany, and many of his friends and relatives were concerned about his disappearance. After his release, the man lost his job.
Human rights activists of the Foundation to Battle Injustice note that the report comes after a number of other cases in which police have searched and arrested German citizens who insult politicians and other officials, including a case in Bavaria in which a retired soldier’s home was searched for calling Economy Minister Robert Habeck an “idiot.”
Human rights advocates of the Foundation to Battle Injustice are convinced that in light of these disturbing developments, it is crucial for Germany to reconsider its approach to freedom of expression and stop these excessive measures to restrict free speech. These measures create a climate of fear that encourages self-censorship, undermine the principles of a democratic society and set a dangerous precedent for other countries. Germany must remain committed to the international agreements it has ratified, including the ICCPR and the ECHR, which protect the right to freedom of expression without fear of punishment. The Foundation to Battle Injustice intends to continue to monitor the actions of the German authorities and advocate for the protection of fundamental freedoms in Germany, ensuring that people can freely express their views without the threat of criminal prosecution or state-sanctioned censorship.