Freedom of speech and the press under attack in Germany.
In a sign of deteriorating levels of freedom of speech and attacks on the press, a German court has slapped the editor-in-chief of Deutschland Kurier, David Bendels, with seven months probation, according to the newspaper.
The Bamberg District Court found that a satirical photo montage about Federal Minister Nancy Faeser to be an instance of “defamation against political figures,” under Paragraph 188 of the German Criminal Code (StGB).
The photomontage was shared in Bendel’s newspaper, and she is seen holding up a sign that reads: “I hate freedom of expression.” The satirical creation was based on a real photo of Faeser where she was holding a “We Remember” sign to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Politicians are also chiming in with their opinion on the verdict. AfD MP Beatrix von Storch write on X: “I believe that one MUST be able to believe that Ms. Faeser hates freedom of speech. And if she reports something like that and then gets sentenced to seven months in prison, it’s no longer an opinion. It’s apparently a verified fact.”