North Rhine-Westphalia: Anti-Semitic slogan: Fines for five right-wing extremists

An anti-Semitic slogan is shouted at two demonstrations in Dortmund.

North Rhine-Westphalia: Anti-Semitic slogan: Fines for five right-wing extremists

An anti-Semitic slogan is shouted at two demonstrations in Dortmund. The court now decides: Under certain conditions, the sentence fulfills the offense of incitement to hatred.

Dortmund (dpa / lnw) - The Dortmund district court has sentenced five members of the right-wing extremist scene to fines of up to 10,000 euros (250 daily rates) for incitement to hatred. The accused are said to have shouted at two demonstrations in Dortmund in September 2018: "Anyone who loves Germany is an anti-Semite." According to Monday's verdict, this slogan "clearly has a right-wing extremist origin". Above all, however, in the context of the marches at the time, the saying should be classified as inflammatory. The verdict is not yet legally binding.

Around 100 people took part in the demonstrations, some of whom waved black, white and red flags and were almost exclusively dressed in black. Videos show that the anti-Semitic slogan was also once shouted when at least one flaming Bengalo fire was held in the air. "Under these circumstances, the statement incites hatred against the Jews living in Germany," the verdict said. The accused and the other participants deliberately created an aggressive and threatening atmosphere.

Five other defendants were acquitted of the charge of hate speech. Either they could not be proven to have been involved in the demonstrations at all. In any case, they were not identified in the context of the scene with the Bengalo shouting the password in question.