German Court Sentences Journalist for Satirical Image
The Bamberg District Court has, for the first time in post-war German history, sentenced a journalist to a suspended prison sentence for a satirical image. David Bendels, the editor-in-chief of the Germany Courier, was found guilty of a crime under the “insult to a state official” paragraph of the German Criminal Code (Section 188).
Bendels’ “crime” was a satirical meme, which was published on the Germany Courier’s X-page in February 2024. The meme depicted Nancy Faeser, the German Federal Minister of the Interior, with a placard reading “I hate the freedom of opinion.” The image was a commentary on the strained relationship between Faeser and the press and freedom of opinion.
The court’s decision is not yet final. In a statement, Bendels announced that he would appeal the verdict and continue to fight for the press and freedom of opinion in Germany.
The Germany Courier, an online-only publication, has been in existence since 2017 and is known for its right-wing leanings. The Bamberg court has been in the news before, having handled a case involving a 64-year-old man who was accused of sharing a meme that ridiculed the German Federal Minister of Economics, Robert Habeck. The man’s home was searched and electronic devices were seized.