The editor-in-chief of the conservative news website Deutschland-Kurier has been heavily fined and could even face prison time for mocking the German Social Democrat Interior Minister Nancy Faeser in a couple of satirical memes that he shared on his X account.
According to the editor, David Bendels, the actions of the minister are a “new attack on the freedom of the press and freedom of expression.” He added that he would mount a legal challenge.
One of the memes in question was posted by Bendels in February. In it, Nancy Faeser is shown holding up a sign, with the words: “I hate freedom of expression.”
In another satirical image, posted by Bendels last year, Faeser, as well as the country’s president Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the head of the domestic intelligence agency, Thomas Haldenwang, can be seen wielding bats as they surround a beaten-up AfD lawmaker, Andreas Jurca. The caption next to the image reads: “Steinmeier, Haldenwang, and Faeser took part in the beating in Augsburg.” The meme refers to the brutal attack on Andreas Jurca last year. The Bavarian lawmaker, a member of the anti-immigration AfD party, sustained severe injuries after being punched and kicked to the ground by a group of foreign men.
The interior minister filed criminal charges, accusing Bendels of wanting to “defame” Faeser. As a result of court decisions, he has to pay a hefty fine. The editor-in-chief told Junge Freiheit that he is afraid that the public prosecutor’s office could even demand a prison sentence.
David Bendels said that the meme showing Faeser holding up a sign is “obviously a satirical-critical photo montage,” and the fact that the minister took issue with it only reinforces the message on the sign, namely that she “hates freedom of expression.” The editor-in-chief also criticised the judges who handed out the fines, saying they have been “politically instrumentalised,” and that they are obediently carrying out orders targeting government-critical media.
Under a law introduced by the previous Angela Merkel-led German government, politicians have the right to file a criminal complaint if they believe that they have been the target of defamatory comments in relation to their official duties. Someone found guilty of such a crime can be fined or sent to prison for up to three years.