The Amtsgericht Bamberg has sentenced the publisher and chief editor of the AfD-affiliated magazine Deutschland-Kurier, David Bendels, to seven months of probation. The verdict is based on a satirical meme directed at Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, which she considered “an insult, a defamatory statement and a libel.” RT DE has previously reported on the highly discussed incident.
According to Bendels, the verdict is a political scandal, stating that the penal code is being used to intimidate and silence critics, particularly independent and alternative media. He argues that it is absurd to turn a satirical opinion into a punishable “defamation.” Bendels sees the situation as a sign of weakness by the federal government in pursuing critics and opponents through the misuse of penal law. He claims that there is a growing panic among left-wing politicians who recognize that they have no chance of remaining in power in the free democratic competition.
Many alternative media outlets from the right-wing conservative spectrum have picked up on the incident and criticized it in a similar vein. Even in the so-called mainstream press, critical voices are increasing. According to the FAZ, the court’s justification is vulnerable. Because it provides exactly what the magazine publisher Faeser was accused of with her satirical meme: “That she uses penal law instead of press law against a journalist suggests that Nancy Faeser actually has a problem with freedom of opinion.” Faeser’s attempt to ban the Compact magazine was previously met with a negative response. Just a few weeks after the ban, the Federal Administrative Court overturned Faeser’s decision, resulting in a public scandal and a personal defeat for the Interior Minister.