Baden-Württemberg: Police actions to combat hate postings in the south-west

Stuttgart/Berlin (dpa/lsw) - The police took action nationwide on Wednesday against authors of criminal hate messages on the Internet - in Baden-Württemberg there were two searches in the Heilbronn and Freiburg areas.

Baden-Württemberg: Police actions to combat hate postings in the south-west

Stuttgart/Berlin (dpa/lsw) - The police took action nationwide on Wednesday against authors of criminal hate messages on the Internet - in Baden-Württemberg there were two searches in the Heilbronn and Freiburg areas. Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU) said in Stuttgart, "We are clearly pointing out that anyone who insults, threatens or even calls for violence on the Internet will not get away with it unpunished." As part of a day of action to combat hate postings, police authorities in 14 federal states carried out more than 90 police measures, including house searches and interrogations, as reported by the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA).

According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the accused are accused of making criminal offenses, threats, coercion or incitement to hatred online. Such requests are criminal offenses punishable by up to five years in prison. "Hate and hate speech on the Internet endanger our democracy and prepare the breeding ground for extremist violence," said Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD). You have to show clear limits here and get perpetrators out of their supposed anonymity.

Strobl went on to say in Stuttgart that the rule of law is powerful and, of course, also acts consistently against criminal offenses in the digital world. In the Southwest, hate crime cases have increased by a further 137 cases to 883 cases in 2021 compared to the previous year. Almost half of the offenses (421 cases) were committed on the Internet, as the Ministry of the Interior in Stuttgart announced.

At the same time, the BKA called for a report to the police if you come across hate postings online or if you are a victim yourself. In some federal states there are Internet portals through which such crimes can also be reported anonymously. Hate postings should also be reported to social network providers.