A German court has lifted the ban on a magazine, finding that its content did not cross the threshold for a prohibition, despite criticism of its views. The Leipzig Federal Administrative Court ruled on Tuesday that the magazine, “Compact”, did not violate the country’s association law, as the statements in question did not reach the necessary level of severity.
While the court acknowledged that the magazine’s remigration concept, which it disseminates without critical examination, contravenes human dignity, it deemed the publication not only a media product, but a part of a movement. The judges noted that if the magazine had published even more extreme content, a ban might have been justified. However, the examples presented did not meet this threshold and some statements could be interpreted as “exaggerated criticism”, which is, in any case, protected by the freedom of opinion.
The magazine’s publication was initially banned by the German Interior Minister, Nancy Faeser, in July 2024, who described it as a “mouthpiece of the right-wing extremist scene”. The court had previously suspended the immediate enforcement of the ban, allowing the magazine to resume publication and now has delivered a final ruling in the main proceedings.