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German far-right MP investigated over anti-Muslim social media posts German far-right MP investigated over anti-Muslim social media posts
(about 11 hours later)
A far-right German MP is under police investigation over inflammatory anti-Muslim comments she made on social media on New Year’s Eve. A German far-right MP is being investigated after she accused Cologne police who had tweeted a new year message in Arabic of appeasing “barbaric, gang-raping Muslim hordes of men”.
The Twitter account of Beatrix von Storch, deputy leader of Germany’s AfD party, was temporarily suspended on Monday, but she was later posting again on the site. Beatrix von Storch, the deputy leader of Alternative for Germany (AfD), was also temporarily suspended from Twitter and Facebook as a new law forcing social media companies to remove hate speech came into force in Germany on 1 January.
Von Storch accused Cologne police of appeasing “barbaric, gang-raping Muslim hordes of men” after they tweeted a new year message in Arabic. The police also tweeted the message in other languages, including English, French and German. Cologne police tweeted their new year message in several languages including English, French and Arabic. It said:
The authorities are considering whether Von Storch should be charged with incitement to hatred, a criminal offence. #PolizeiNRW #Köln #Leverkusen: Cologne Police wishes everyone in the metropolitan area of Cologne and Leverkusen and everywhere else of course, a Happy New Year! New Year’s Eve 2018 #Silvester2017 – Information: https://t.co/G5erMWFNQy pic.twitter.com/7XW0t8YV7K
Her Twitter account was suspended for 12 hours for her post, as it breached the site’s rules. On her return to the social media site, Von Storch posted in German: “Facebook has now also censored me. This is the end of the constitutional state.” The authorities are considering whether Von Storch should be charged with incitement to hatred.
Germany has enacted stringent hate speech laws, with social media firms facing fines of up to €50m (£44m) if they do not remove “obviously illegal” hate speech and other postings within 24 hours of receiving a notification. Her Twitter account was suspended for 12 hours over her post. Under the new law known as NetzDG, social media firms face fines of up to €50m (£44m) if they do not remove “obviously illegal” hate speech and other postings within 24 hours of receiving a notification.
In June, von Storch answered “yes” to a question on Facebook asking whether firearms should be used against women and children trying to cross the German border. Critics of the law, which was conceived by the Social Democrat-run justice ministry, say it will place censorship decisions that require legal training at the whim of technology companies.
Von Storch, whose grandfather served as finance minister under Hitler, later suggested her computer mouse had slipped. Questions have been raised about whether sites such as Twitter will hire enough trained moderators to cope with the expected influx of deletion requests.
She posed with former Ukip leader Nigel Farage when he launched AfD’s German election campaign in September. Farage described chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to keep open Germany’s borders at the height of the 2015 refugee crisis as the “worst decision by any leader in modern political history”. Digital rights activists, technology companies and political groups including the pro-business Free Democratic party, the Left party and the far-right AfD have been vocal critics of the new law.
Returning to Twitter after her ban, Von Storch – who posed with the former Ukip leader Nigel Farage when he endorsed AfD’s election campaign in September – posted in German: “Facebook has now also censored me. This is the end of the constitutional state.”
Cologne’s state prosecutor said it had received “several hundred” criminal complaints against Von Storch. If she is charged and found guilty of incitement to hatred, she could face a fine or a prison sentence of up to three years.
A spokesperson for Cologne police told Der Spiegel that its investigation into the inflammatory tweets was normal procedure. “If there’s a suspicion that we are dealing with a crime, it is our legal responsibility to act,” he said.
Von Storch previously provoked outrage for her social media activity when she answered “yes” in January 2016 to a question on Facebook asking whether firearms should be used against women and children trying to cross the German border. Von Storch, whose grandfather served as finance minister under Hitler, later claimed her computer mouse had slipped.
A tweet from another AfD MP, Alice Weidel, the party’s joint leader in the Bundestag, was also blocked by Twitter in Germany. In the message, Weidel ad criticised Von Storch’s ban, saying: “Our authorities submit to imported, marauding, groping, beating, knife-stabbing migrant mobs.”
During New Year’s Eve celebrations in Cologne in 2016, scores of women were sexually assaulted and mugged by large groups of men. Police said the suspects were largely of north African origin and most had recently migrated to Germany.During New Year’s Eve celebrations in Cologne in 2016, scores of women were sexually assaulted and mugged by large groups of men. Police said the suspects were largely of north African origin and most had recently migrated to Germany.
For Berlin’s most recent New Year’s Eve festivities, a “women only” zone was set up. For Berlin’s New Year’s Eve festivities this week, a “women only” zone was set up.