The federal government was "deeply dismayed" by the death of the Austrian doctor Lisa-Maria Kellermayr, who was threatened by opponents of vaccination. "Threats, violence and hate speech are to be condemned in the strongest terms, especially when they are directed against medical staff and doctors," said Deputy Government Spokesman Wolfgang Büchner on Wednesday in Berlin. The German security authorities would cooperate with the Austrian authorities in the investigation.
"It is clear that death threats or hate speech such as digital hate on the Internet go unpunished far too often," Büchner continued. The reported incidents must be taken seriously and criminal behavior must be prosecuted.
The signal that is going out from Austria these days is: “We will no longer give space to those who intimidate us or try to do this every day.” No comparable cases are known in Germany.
Büchner referred to the Network Enforcement Act and other laws with which the federal government is "resolutely against hate and hate speech, but above all against death threats on the Internet". The law obliges platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to delete criminally relevant statements and also to report them to the authorities. The investigative authorities would also be better trained and made aware of these crimes.
The Austrian vaccinator was found dead in her practice in the Vöcklabruck district on Friday. Among other things, she had reported on her website from months of intimidation to death threats “from the Covid measures and anti-vaccination scene” – and finally closed her practice, citing this.
The doctor wrote on Twitter at the end of June that working conditions “like the ones we have experienced in the past few months” cannot be expected of anyone. She was reportedly under police protection for an extended period.
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) told the Funke newspapers that he also regularly received death threats. He is therefore particularly well protected.
An autopsy on the Austrian doctor's body confirmed a suicide on Wednesday. "In particular, there were no indications of third-party interference," said the public prosecutor's office in Wels on Wednesday.
At first, the authorities did not consider an autopsy necessary. However, two relatives had requested such a step on Tuesday, which the district court agreed.
Do you have suicidal thoughts or have you noticed them in a relative/acquaintance? Help is available from the telephone counseling service: anonymous advice is available around the clock on the free numbers 0800/111 0 111 and 0800/111 0 222. Advice is also available online at telefonseelsorge.de. A list of nationwide help centers can be found on the website of the German Society for Suicide Prevention.
