"AfD co-leader Alice Weidel has filed hundreds of complaints over insults and slander, particularly online abuseImage: Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa/picture alliance More than 4,400 cases of public insults, defamation and slander directed at German politicians were recorded last year, Welt am Sonntag reported. The newspaper cited statistics from the Federal Criminal Police Office, Germany's national serious crime investigative body. In 2023, there were significantly fewer violations at 2,598 and 1,404 in 2022, marking a nearly tripling in cases over the past two years."
"The surge comes as German politics remains fractured, fueled by the popularity of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. The AfD often leads or closely trails the center-right CDU/CSU bloc of Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the polls and its supporters are accused of targeting politicians from rival parties with false claims. Section 188 of the Criminal Code protects politicians from such infringements on their reputation, with violations punishable by a fine or up to five years in prison."
"The AfD's faction in Germany's parliament, the Bundestag, recently called for the abolition of the section, despite the party's lawmakers filing hundreds of criminal complaints under the measure. Section 188 was expanded in 2021 to include "insults" alongside defamation and slander when directed at "persons in political life" in a way that could substantially impair their public activities. The AfD, which campaigns on an anti-immigration, anti-elite platform, is blamed by centrists for normalizing aggression."
More than 4,400 cases of public insults, defamation and slander directed at German politicians were recorded in 2024, up from 2,598 in 2023 and 1,404 in 2022, marking a near tripling over two years. The Federal Criminal Police Office provided the statistics. The surge coincides with heightened political polarization and the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), whose supporters are accused of targeting rival politicians with false claims. Section 188 of the Criminal Code protects politicians from reputation infringements, punishable by fines or up to five years' imprisonment. The AfD has both called to abolish the section and filed hundreds of complaints under it, and centrists blame the party for normalizing aggression.
Read at www.dw.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]