Barely six weeks after the German federal elections, the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) has topped a voter survey for the first time ever.
On April 9, Ipsos published the results of its latest survey that revealed a quarter of the German electorate would now cast their vote for the AfD. The Conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which won the February 28 elections with 29 per cent of the vote, was down to 24 per cent.
That followed the criticised performance of CDU leader Friedrich Merz in the coalition talks with the left-wing Social Democratic Party (SPD).
Merz had previously ruled out any co-operation with AfD even though many of his election promises – primarily to curb illegal immigration and migrant crime – were similar to the right-wing programme.
That made Merz vulnerable to excessive demands from the SDP, to which in the eyes of many Conservatives he did not put up enough resistance.
The Ipsos surveying service dated back to 2016, based on an online panel of at least 1,000 respondents.
The pollsters correctly predicted the result of the February election, including the 21 per cent share for the AfD. In the last survey before the current one, published on March 7, CDU still scored 29 per cent and the AfD 22 per cent.
The latest poll also showed rising support for the hard-left Die Linke party, the successor to the former East German Communist party. Die Linke was up from 9 per cent at the ballot box to 11 per cent in the Ipsos survey.
The results were particularly damning for Merz as CDU leader.
When he first ran for the party leadership in 2018 – unsuccessfully – he said the party could “again reach up to 40 per cent of the vote and halve AfD”.
The voter dynamic is now moving in the opposite direction.
What happened with Marine Le Pen, the most popular politician in France who was just banned from standing for election on the flimsiest of pretenses, is no exception. It’s becoming the rule around the West and in other places, too, where being outside the mainstream of authorized establishment left-leaning globalist politics has become criminalized. In some places, like the UK and Spain, it takes the form of persecuting people for saying things that those in power don’t want to hear. In other places, like Germany, upstart populist parties that earned a significant number of votes are informally, and sometimes formally, marginalized and threatened with being banned. But it’s the criminal persecution of leaders that is becoming the go-to. It happened to Bolsonaro in Brazil, Netanyahu in Israel, Georgescu in Romania, and Le Pen in France. In each of these cases, the establishment authoritarians essentially attempted to frame a politician they couldn’t beat at the ballot box. Of course, their American analogs tried to do the same thing to Donald Trump here, and when that didn’t work, their allies tried to murder him. Thankfully, they failed at both – with the people who instigated these atrocities too dumb to know that they are the ones who should be the most thankful they failed.
These are not the acts of strong and confident leaders who believe in the strength and popularity of their ideology. These are the cowardly acts of authoritarians who differ from Putin not in their nature but only in their extent. They haven’t thrown anybody out of a fifth-story window yet that we know of, though we don’t know if they actively put the murderer who tried to kill Trump in Butler up to it – the one who tried to ambush him in Florida was an active member of their collective – but they would’ve cheered if either attempt had succeeded. Thankfully, America was not so far gone that the people’s choice could not prevail, though the resisters in the judiciary, the regime media, and elsewhere are doing everything they can to ensure that the man the people elected to govern can’t actually exercise the powers of office.
The European authoritarians, however, still have the ability to crush dissent. There are several reasons why, including the fact that most of the good Europeans long ago left for America, and the ones who remain are largely degraded and pathetic people. After all, Europe is an exhausted culture, too weak both morally and spiritually to come to its own defense. Its glorious cathedrals are museums now, and its armies are jokes. They can’t find the will or the courage to defend themselves, and Europeans have turned over their governance to corrupt, globalist fools who invite the Third World in to complete the destruction of what was the mother of civilization.
Americans are saddened and sickened by them. It’s difficult to explain to Americans why we should spend our treasure and put our blood on the line for nations that oppress their own people and embrace sham democracy. Even the UK, the father of our democracy, has turned into a political deadbeat dad. Why should we have a special relationship with a country that sends cops to the house of parents complaining about school policies? Under the Democrats, they tried to do that here, and we rejected it. We demonstrated at least a modicum of manhood in the face of this petty tyranny. But until the Europeans demonstrate their commitment to doing something about their own enslavement, it’s unclear how we might help. We certainly shouldn’t be protecting them from other European dictatorships – we have no interest in refereeing among oppressors. The fact that they need us to do so reflects their decision to essentially disarm and become pathetic welfare states teaming with foreign parasites and native cowards.
In short, America cannot be expected to – and is not going to – care more about Europe than the Europeans do.
Our response as Americans to fascist acts like the framing of Le Pen should be loud and bold condemnation and contempt. What they are doing is truly disgusting – and dangerous, too. We should say so, especially since their citizens can’t without fear of a knock on the door. The European ruling class hates hearing it, especially when JD Vance goes overseas and tells them the truth to their smug, pale faces. Their fussy fury when he exposes their fake democracy and lies about freedom is hilarious. But all they should get from us is talk. We should let them fend for themselves. They are unworthy of a special relationship, and it’s impossible to frame a coherent or compelling explanation of why a single American paratrooper should die in defense of any country that refuses to allow its most popular politician to run because the establishment dislikes her platform.
We should certainly learn the lesson here about what’s going on over there, although, as we’ve seen, the Democrats have tried many of the same tactics. That they’ve been defeated so far is a testament to the fact that Americans are not yet completely broken. We’re not ready to be serfs, and the fact that we have more guns than people provides a powerful backstop against the kind of tyranny the globalist left would love to impose in America as well.
I shudder to think of what would have happened if Trump had been murdered or if they had succeeded in knocking him off the ballot. But I’m not shuddering for my sake. If the stuff hits the fan, I and those like me will prevail. I’m shuttering over the fate of the morons whose greed, corruption, and stupidity would have sparked a conflict they are utterly unprepared to fight. And I do mean fight. That’s what happens when the ruling class uses a corrupt system to block the expression of the people’s will and leaves no peaceful path for it to be heard. We are very far from that here, but if it came to that, patriots would fight for our Constitution and our freedom. The elite and their minions? Who exactly would do their fighting? Who is willing to die to enact the Green New Deal, to impose DEI, or to allow dudes in girls’ toilets? Harry Sisson would flee to Canada to be a sex pest at the local Tim Horton’s before he ever picked up a rifle.
Will there be a revolution in Europe? France was once famous for its revolting people. There’s a lot of anger, but there aren’t a lot of weapons left among the citizenry – never, ever, give up your guns and, in fact, go buy guns and ammunition. On the other hand, there aren’t a lot of troops either for the governments to use to suppress their own people and force the people to accept the dictatorship should the Euro masses decide to leave their tiny, squalid apartments and take to the streets. The ugly truth is that civil wars don’t necessarily require guns. Hundreds of thousands of people were butchered in Rwanda with knives and machetes. Maybe Keir Starmer was thinking ahead when he banned ninja swords.
Civil wars are the least civil kind of wars. They are best avoided.
Or maybe they will just accept a picture of the future that is a wizened EU crone’s Gucci slipper stamping on a human face forever. Maybe manipulating the judicial system to ensure that the supporters of popular leaders are disenfranchised won’t cause any more reaction among the people than some grumbling in their bizarre foreign languages. But, if you’re familiar with history, and most of our elite no longer is, you might remember Julius Caesar and his crossing of the Rubicon. The Rubicon was the border to Italy that a Roman proconsul serving abroad could not cross at the head of his armed troops. Caesar knew that if he laid down his imperium and returned to Rome as a civilian, his political enemies would use the judiciary to destroy him. So, he didn’t lay down his imperium when he returned to Rome. He brought his legionnaires.
Now, one might point out that Caesar’s political enemies did eventually murder him after he essentially became a dictator in fact, if not title. That’s true. Caesar was famously merciful to his enemies. Several of the men who slaughtered him had received his pardon. The guy who came after him didn’t make that mistake. Caesar’s heir hunted down those murderers and killed them, along with a lot of other people. Augustus then made himself emperor, again in fact if not title.
In the end, the elite probably would have been better off not messing with Caesar and addressing the concerns of the plebs who adored him. Perhaps history is teaching us that today’s popular leaders like Donald Trump and Marine La Pen are not the people’s last chance. They are the globalist’s last chance.
A new meta-analysis covering 85 million people has found more evidence linking the COVID-19 vaccines to serious medical harms, although the authors appear to downplay the significance of their own findings in what one analyst calls the price of publication.
The study, published in the International Journal of Preventive Medicine, analyzes the findings of 15 previous studies covering almost 46 million vaccinated individuals and 40 unvaccinated ones. The effects overwhelmingly concern the Pfizer and AstraZeneca shots.
“Bayesian meta-analysis revealed a link between vaccines and CAD risk (OR, 1.70; 95% CrI: 1.11-2.57), particularly after BNT162b2 (OR, 1.64; 95% CrI: 1.06-2.55) and second dose (OR, 3.44; 95% CrI: 1.99-5.98),” the paper summarizes. “No increased risk of heart attack, arrhythmia, or stroke was observed post-COVID-19 vaccination. As the only noteworthy point, a protective effect on stroke (OR, 0.19; 95% CrI: 0.10-0.39) and myocardial infarction (OR, 0.003; 95% CrI: 0.001-0.006) was observed after the third dose of the vaccine.”
However, digging into the study’s actual data reveals a 70% increased overall risk of coronary artery disease (CAD); a 286% increased risk of myocardial infarction (MI) after second doses; a 240% increased risk of stroke after a first dose; and a 199% increased risk of arrhythmia after a first dose.
The authors conclude that the “association of COVID-19 vaccination with the risk of coronary artery disease should be considered in future vaccine technologies for the next pandemic,” but curiously argue that “(w)hile acknowledging potential side effects, our findings support the overall safety of the COVID-19 vaccine concerning cardiovascular complications such as myocardial infarction, stroke, and arrhythmia.”
Commenting on the study, McCullough Foundation epidemiologist Nicolas Hulscher argued that the discrepancy between the “actual data” and “how the authors spin it for publication” was to be expected, as “most will say anything to get the paper published” given the pervading biases among the medical establishment.
The data adds to a significant body of evidence behind ambivalence to the COVID-19 vaccines.
The federal Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) reports 38,541 deaths, 220,494 hospitalizations, 22,247 heart attacks, and 28,908 myocarditis and pericarditis cases as of March 28, among other ailments. U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) researchers have recognized a “high verification rate of reports of myocarditis to VAERS after mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccination,” leading to the conclusion that “under-reporting is more likely” than over-reporting.
An analysis of 99 million people across eight countries published in the journal Vaccine “observed significantly higher risks of myocarditis following the first, second and third doses” of mRNA-based COVID vaccines, as well as signs of increased risk of “pericarditis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis,” and other “potential safety signals that require further investigation.” In April 2024, the CDC was forced to release by court order 780,000 previously undisclosed reports of serious adverse reactions, and a study out of Japan found “statistically significant increases” in cancer deaths after third doses of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines, and offered several theories for a causal link.
In January, a long-awaited Florida grand jury report on the COVID vaccine manufacturers found that while only a miniscule percentage of the millions of vaccinations resulted in serious harm based on the data it had access to, such events do occur, and there are “profound and serious issues” in pharmaceutical companies’ review process, including reluctance to share what evidence of adverse events they did find.
All eyes are currently on President Donald Trump and his health team, helmed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services. As one of the country’s most vocal critics of the COVID establishment and vaccines more generally, his nomination brought hope that the second Trump administration will take a critical reassessment of the shots that the returning president has previously embraced, although most of Kennedy’s comments since joining Trump have focused on other issues, such as conventional vaccines and harmful food additives, and during confirmation hearings he called Operation Warp Speed an “extraordinary accomplishment.”
A trans-identified male sex offender who attempted to enroll at a local high school in Oregon has been sentenced to 20 days in jail and two years’ probation. Alec Ray Craig, who uses the name Makayla Craig, 27, was arrested last December after an officer at at South Albany High School reported him for pretending to be a 15 year-old girl in order to register as a student.
Craig has told school administrators that his name was Madison and provided a false date of birth. Upon his arrest, it was discovered that Craig is a registered sex offender. He was then arrested on charges of computer crimes, forgery, and false swearing.
“The person appeared to be an adult but was portraying themselves as a 15-year-old girl. After further investigation, the individual gave a false name and date of birth attempting to enroll in high school,” a statement from Albany Police Department read. When announcing Craig’s arrest online, law enforcement turned off comments in response to what they regarded as “hate speech.”
Many replies expressed frustration that the authorities had not included a photo of the sex offender, who was convicted of sexually abusing a minor in 2023. Details regarding his prior conviction were also noticeably absent.
Craig appeared before Linn County Court on April 4, where prosecutors requested a jail sentence of 40 days.
“She, as a registered sex offender, is trying to pretend that she is a juvenile… to become- to be involved with other juveniles in the high school system,” said prosecutor Coleen Cerda.
However, Craig’s defense counsel argued that this period of time in jail would not “serve the purpose that we want” and proposed that community service would be sufficient.
“I don’t know that jail really serves the purpose that perhaps we want,” defense attorney Erik Moeller countered. “And compensatory service, or community service, would better serve the community.”
Craig was ultimately sentenced to 20 days in jail, two years’ probation and was ordered to stay at least 500 feet away from schools.
On social media, Craig uses various terms associated with online fetish communities to describe himself. He has referred to himself as a “femboi,” a label synonymous with the transgender community, as well as a “furry” and a “therian,” indicating that he identifies as a non-human animal. In June 2022, Craig posted a “transfeline Pride” flag to his account, indicating that he identifies as a cat.
Multiple local news outlets reported on Craig’s case while referring to the child sexual abuser as simply a “woman.”
Many male mass migrants are not the only ones holding a knife in their hand: a Syrian former primary school teacher is on trial at Stuttgart District Court. The 40-year-old Sahari A. allegedly stabbed a girl in a playground and injured several young people. Reason: allegedly insulting her own daughter. “I want to kill this girl. This girl shall not live long”, was the Muslim woman’s alleged battle cry before she stabbed the girl.
A harrowing trial once again reveals the devastating consequences of unbridled mass migration from Islamic countries: A 40-year-old Syrian woman, Sahari A., is on trial at Stuttgart Regional Court for attempted manslaughter.
The accusation: the Syrian woman, allegedly a primary school teacher in her home country, is said to have brutally attacked four girls on a playground in Magstadt. The ex-teacher, who accepted Merkel’s invitation in 2015 and arrived in Germany with her entire family – four children and her husband – is said to have beaten her 14-year-old daughter. The daughter was then taken into the care of the youth welfare office. The Syrian woman apparently blamed her daughter’s 14-year-old classmate for this.
According to the indictment, the mother blamed a 15-year-old classmate of her daughter for her being taken into care by the youth welfare office. She is said to have shouted in Arabic: “I want to kill this girl. This girl shall not live long.” The girl, who was then suddenly attacked by the murderous Muslim woman, only narrowly escaped – because a boy stopped the furious woman – but suffering a deep cut to his cheek. According to the police, the Muslim woman injured three other girls aged between 13 and 16 with blows.
In court, the girl tearfully told the witness stand: ‘Suddenly she stood in front of me and hit me.’ What the schoolgirl did not realise at first was that Sahari A. was allegedly holding a knife in her hand. The prosecutor explained: ‘She stabbed the blade towards my neck.’
The accused appeared in court in Stuttgart fully veiled – covered up except for her eyes. Judge Monika Lamberti, however, did not accept the masquerade wearing an Islamic covering, according to the Bild newspaper. The Muslim woman then complained that she was allowed to cover herself in an “Islamic state”.
This case shows what uncontrolled immigration from Islamic countries has flushed into our country and threatens our security on a daily basis.
In a sign of deteriorating levels of freedom of speech and attacks on the press, a German court has slapped the editor-in-chief of Deutschland Kurier, David Bendels, with seven months probation, according to the newspaper.
The Bamberg District Court found that a satirical photo montage about Federal Minister Nancy Faeser to be an instance of “defamation against political figures,” under Paragraph 188 of the German Criminal Code (StGB).
The photomontage was shared in Bendel’s newspaper, and she is seen holding up a sign that reads: “I hate freedom of expression.” The satirical creation was based on a real photo of Faeser where she was holding a “We Remember” sign to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Politicians are also chiming in with their opinion on the verdict. AfD MP Beatrix von Storch write on X: “I believe that one MUST be able to believe that Ms. Faeser hates freedom of speech. And if she reports something like that and then gets sentenced to seven months in prison, it’s no longer an opinion. It’s apparently a verified fact.”
Ich bin der Meinung, dass man der Meinung sein können MUSS, dass Frau Faeser die Meinungsfreiheit hasst. Und wenn sie sowas anzeigt und man dann dafür 7 Monate Gefängnis bekommt- ist es keine Meinung mehr. Sondern offenbar eine verifizierte Tatsache. pic.twitter.com/oHXJFcaQQF
— Beatrix von Storch (@Beatrix_vStorch) April 7, 2025
One of Faeser’s most controversial statements during her term of interior minister was: “Those who mock the state must be dealt with by a strong state.” It appears with this verdict, she is sending exactly that message.
🇩🇪 These are harrowing words from far left German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser.
The SPD politician is pushing to introduce 13 new measures to clamp on "right-wing extremists," but these "extremists" will inevitably be the rival anti-immigration @AfD party.
Faeser actually filed the criminal complaint herself, which is part of a general trend of German politicians filing criminal complaints against citizens for “insults” and “memes.”
The conviction is especially shocking in terms of how satire is produced in Germany, with satirical magazine Titanik filling every issue with harsh and offensive content mocking politicians, especially those from the right. Late-night hosts like Jan Böhmermann are equally harsh towards the right, yet suffer no such consequences. The Cologne Carnival also features incredibly offensive floats, including those targeting AfD’s Alice Weidel.
NEW – Alice Weidel, leader of the German AfD party, will be presented tomorrow on a carnival float in Düsseldorf as a "swastika witch" with a wart on her nose who seduces first-time voters. pic.twitter.com/CardGpN7ZK
The editor, Bendel, says that he and his newspaper, Deutschland Kurier, “will not accept this verdict” and will “fight it with all legal means at their disposal.”
He said they will “continue the just fight for freedom of the press and freedom of expression, which is indispensable for the continued existence of democracy in Germany, with determination, stability and the utmost consistency.
Last year, the Bamberg District Court issued three ruling against Bendels, including for the Faeser picture. In total, he received fines that he must pay over the course of 480 days for three separate cases. He is now ordered to also apologize to Faeser. He has appealed all of the verdicts.
Fear of Russian revanchism may set back decades of work by European governments to erode individual responsibility in favour of a more collectivist model, with the public now increasingly told to be ready to take control for their own survival.
The German Interior Ministry led by social democrat-left caretaker minister Nancy Faeser is intervening to introduce civil defence into the school curriculum, a report by the Handelsblatt newspaper states. In Germany, education is the responsibility of individual states but the Federal government wants to push this matter and will prepare education material to be distributed to the states, it is said.
A ministry spokesman cited in the report said of the decision to introduce emergency preparedness to children: “Given the recent developments in the security situation, a greater focus should be placed on civil defence, including in school education… [it is] important that citizens have emergency supplies at home to deal with various emergency situations, so that they can help themselves, their families, and those around them, and even save lives in an emergency”.
The perceived threat of Russia invading its neighbours or a hot war with NATO suddenly breaking out are cited as the reason for this change in policy, with better preparedness for natural disasters like floods named as a convenient bonus.
The German government moving to a more prepared state is only the latest such manifestation of wider European political concern about war. In recent months Sweden has issued an updated version of its Cold War-era survival handbook, the United Kingdom has told citizens to have a battery powered radio and a flashlight at home, and NATO has green-lit the public stockpiling bottled water.
Last month, the European Commission appealed to the people of the continent to take similar precautions, and this communication was specifically cited by the German government as informing their own thinking. European crisis management Commissioner Hadja Lahbib heralded this change with a slick social media video, saying that preparedness must be a new way of life for Europe, and listing recommended every-day-carry items like bottled water, a pocketknife, and cash.
While the government telling the public they should take steps to ensure their own survival, conceding that the cashless society isn’t resilient, and even encouraging people to carry a pocketknife may all we welcomed by the liberty-minded, it also comes as an admission of failure. Europeans are ultra-taxpayers, the social contract justifying earners losing a considerable slice of their income in return for a cossetting welfare state, but one which is now tacitly admitted to be fragile and unable to step up in a crisis.
Some of these messages very directly contradict long-honed government narratives. Official European Union advice to carry a pocketknife daily — “a must have” — would cause abject horror in London, for instance, where the government is working hard to stamp out knife carrying altogether with strict, restrictive laws and tough penalties in preference to tackling knifemen as the cause of knife crime.
The shift to a cashless society, made government policy across Europe during the coronavirus lockdown era and strongly objected to by right wing activists worried about loss of liberty is also undermined by the admission that in an emergency, payment cards can’t be relied upon.
Commissioner Lahbib, for instance, said to always carry “some cash. In the middle of a crisis, cash is king, and your credit card might just be a piece of plastic”.
As for Germany, launching preparedness in schools has reasonably broad cross-party support, with opposition coming from the hard-left, for instance, which argues such moves are actually intended to militarise society for future war. In other cases, the Euro leadership-adjacent media has accused the “far right” of attempting to undermine such initiatives.
Establishment conservative CDU party defence spokesman Roderich Kiesewetter told Handelsblatt of the plan that he found it “absolutely necessary that emergency situations be practiced, because students are particularly vulnerable and particularly affected in an emergency”.
He said Germany is far less prepared for emergencies than other European states which actually border Russia. Finland, which never gave up its 20th century system of near-universal conscription and military service for teenagers and which has extensive Civil Defence preparedness was cited as a particular example to follow.
Kiesewetter said: “Compared to our Nordic and eastern neighbours, Germany has very little resilience, and our crisis preparedness structures are backward”, saying Germany has ‘hardly any state stockpiles, shelters, or resilient crisis communication technology’, states the paper.
Germany engaged in a such an enthusiastic post-Cold War selloff of old bunker sites the country no longer knows how many still exist, and could be pressed back into use in an emergency. It is presently starting up a ‘bunker plan‘ to survey the country and rediscover this information, inspired by the Ukrainian experience of war.
Even so, Germany is massively more prepared than some countries, like the United Kingdom for instance, which suspended all Civil Defence preparedness in the 1960s on the logic that spending finite defence money on the nation’s nuclear deterrent was more effective.
French Conservative news channels CNews and Europe 1 are under investigation for their critical coverage of Marine Le Pen’s conviction.
France’s national regulator for audio-visual and digital communication, Arcom, will assess whether either channel met obligations “in terms of pluralism and honesty” while covering the trial and conviction of France’s presidential frontrunner.
A spokesperson of Arcom confirmed to Brussels Signal on April 7 the organisation was alerted in connection with both channels’ coverage of the National Rally de facto leader’s court case in which Le Pen was convicted on March 31.
“As with all other cases to which we are alerted, we will investigate the footage reported to us in accordance with this procedure,” the spokesperson said.
Arcom started the investigation after having received several referrals following the conviction of the presidential frontrunner.
In February, C8, a different TV channel from the same group as CNews, had its highly popular show Touche pas a mon poste pulled from the airwaves by the French Council of State after Arcom refused to renew its licence over a perceived lack of political pluralism.
In his introductory speech, the popular CNews host Pascal Praud said on April 1: “Nine people had decided to ban C8. This time, three judges stopped Ms Le Pen.
“It is possible that we have lost the manual for democracy in France.”
If Arcom found that CNews and/or Europe 1 exceeded the limits set by article 434-25 of the penal code, and “sought to discredit … in conditions likely to undermine the authority of the judiciary or its independence”, then they may have committed an offence punishable by six months imprisonment and a fine of €7,500.
In February 2024, the French Council of State ruled Arcom had to tighten its control over CNews, citing “its obligations in terms of pluralism and independence of information”.
It decided that Arcom must “guarantee” that all French channels maintain “pluralistic expression, considering contributions from all programme participants, including columnists, hosts and guests, while respecting editorial freedom”.
CNews has become the most popular non-stop news channel in France. According to the latest viewership figures, it has been notching up record audiences.
Ezeoke underwent five trials before being convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment MET POLICE
A “callous” murderer who killed a mother and her nephew has won a European human rights claim.
A European court has determined that the human rights of 32-year-old Obina Christopher Ezeoke were violated due to the lengthy delay in his trial.
Ezeoke underwent five trials before being convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, with a recommendation for a minimum of 40 years to be served.
The European Court of Human Rights ruled that the five-year process leading to Ezeoke’s conviction violated Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees a fair public hearing within a “reasonable time” for any suspect.
The first trial was dismissed due to the judge’s illness, while the second trial ended because the jury could not reach a verdict.
The third trial, which was a retrial, also concluded without a verdict after a different jury failed to reach one.
Meanwhile the fourth trial, a second retrial, was cut short due to the Covid pandemic.
Although these delays and the trial outcomes were beyond the control of the courts or the government, the Strasbourg court still ruled that they constituted a breach.
However, Ezeoke’s request for immediate release from his life sentence was denied.
The court ruled that despite the delays, his conviction and sentence were fair and did not violate Article 6 in that regard. Additionally, the court determined he was not entitled to any compensation.
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said: “This is the latest extraordinary example of judicial activism by the Strasbourg court. It only seems to get worse.”
Ezeoke murdered Annie Ekofo, 53, and her nephew Bervil Kalikaka-Ekofo, 21, after sneaking into their unlocked home in East Finchley, North London in 2016.
The killing was intented as revenge after Ekofo’s son, Ryan Efey, 22, shared footage of him being attacked on Snapchat.
The Old Bailey heard Efey was most likely the intended target, but the killer decided to kill anyone in the flat.
Ezeoke used a Western-style revolver to fire a bullet into the back of the 21-year-old’s head before turning around and shooting his aunt in the chest with the Smith and Wesson. 44.
During sentencing, Judge Justice Cutts stated she had considered a whole-life order but ultimately decided on a life sentence with a minimum term of 40 years.
She said: “Your cold, callous and brutal murders of two people has not only cut short their lives but has ruined the lives of many.”
Juries in May 2018 and March 2019 were unable to reach verdicts, despite the majority of jurors favoring a conviction.
In 2017, the trial was halted when a judge had to withdraw due to severe back pain.
Prosecutors made the unusual decision to pursue a fifth trial after the previous hearing collapsed due to the coronavirus pandemic in March.
Defence lawyers for the defendant argued that “enough is enough” and opposed the continuation of the trial.
In his submission to the European court, the double murderer claimed the repeated delays “had such a detrimental effect on the quality of the defence evidence that the outcome of the fifth trial was ‘at least arguably’ unsafe”.
The court found there were two delays that were “problematic”, specifically the year between the third and fourth trial, and the six months before his permission to appeal was denied.
It unanimously agreed that “there has been a violation of Article 6 of the Convention on account of the excessive length of the criminal proceedings against the applicant”.
Entrance to the ordinariate of the archbishop, Freiburg Breisgau. Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA-2.0-DE, Avemundi
A German archdiocese announced that it will allow the use of “gender stars,” which are asterisks used to indicate gender neutrality, in youth ministry communications.
The Catholic Archdiocese of Freiburg recently issued a Decree on the Use of Gender-Appropriate Language allowing the gender star to be used within German nouns “to express gender sensitivity” in communications for youth ministry, university ministry, and gender identity-focused adult pastoral programs.
The gender star is placed before German masculine or feminine word endings to signify the inclusion of those who identify as “nonbinary” rather than male or female.
Such gender stars are not to be used in “general official correspondence” or the Official Gazette of the archdiocese. Members of the archdiocese have also been instructed to use both feminine and masculine word forms side by side in communications, although they may substitute “gender-neutral” forms.
The decree also states that “Formulations that include a definition of (traditional) role patterns should be avoided and, if possible, replaced by gender-neutral terms (e.g. cleaners instead of cleaning ladies).”
The move to officially recognize “gender neutrality” within diocesan communications marks a radical departure from Scriptural and Catholic Church teaching, as well as human biology. Genesis clearly states that God “created them male and female” (Genesis 5:2).
Sex is genetically determined from conception by an individual’s male (XY) or female (XX) chromosomes and is manifested through male or female sex organs with distinct reproductive functions.
Thus, the pretense that a person can be “gender neutral” is a perverse rejection of God’s will and created order.
The Catholic Church in Germany is notorious for the prevalence of heterodox belief and practice among its laity and clergy, including its bishops. Most notably, the German bishops’ “Synodal Way” conferences have been condemned by prelates around the world for its statements at odds with perennial Church teaching.
