A German lawyer, Markus Roscher, has been sentenced to a fine of €3,000. The offense was a series of tweets in which he criticized the German Chancellor, the Foreign Minister and the Minister of Economics and Climate Action, calling them “malevolently arrogant failures.”
According to the online news portal Apollo News, Roscher had argued in the summer of 2022 that the politicians in question were “dumbing down” the country and prioritizing their own interests over those of the citizens. He claimed they were “too incompetent to bring well-thought-out laws to the table.”
A court subsequently issued a charge sheet and in 2023, a verdict was handed down under Paragraph 188 of the German Criminal Code, which criminalizes the defamation of public figures, spreading false rumors and insulting others.
The Kassel District Court justified the verdict by stating that Roscher had significantly impeded the public work of the Chancellor, the Foreign Minister and the Minister of Economics and Climate Action through his words, which constituted an example of “scornful criticism.” The court also noted that such a devaluation could hinder the politicians’ political progress, particularly since the criticism came from a lawyer who presents himself as a professional.
Roscher has also reported that the relevant bar association has taken an interest in the matter. If he were to express himself critically about politicians again and were subsequently found guilty, he could face a professional ban and his weapons permit might be revoked, allegedly due to concerns about his “unreliability.