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DW
5 days ago
- Politics
- DW
German court lifts ban on far-right Compact magazine – DW – 06/25/2025
Judges ruled in favor of the monthly publication, citing freedom of expression protections. The decision could also have consequences for the ongoing debate on banning Germany's far-right AfD party. The decision by the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig not to ban the magazine was a difficult one, according to Judge Ingo Kraft. "However, the Basic Law guarantees freedom of opinion and freedom of the press even to the enemies of freedom, trusting in the power of free social debate," he said on Tuesday, June 24. The ruling is a defeat for former German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, who banned magazine in 2024. At the time, she justified the move saying the magazine is "a central mouthpiece for the right-wing extremist scene. This magazine incites against Jews, people with ethnic migrant backgrounds and against our parliamentary democracy in the most abhorrent way." The judges now said there was reason to doubt whether freedom of the press and freedom of expression had been sufficiently taken into account in the ban. They argued that terms such as "remigration" and "cult of guilt" are covered by freedom of expression. This also applied to conspiracy theories and historical revisionist theories. A 2023 report from the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Germany's domestic intelligence agency, features an entire page dedicated to — a magazine and multimedia company headquartered in Falkensee, on the outskirts of Berlin. According to the BfV, the magazine's publisher says it sells 40,000 print copies a month. The number of subscribers to the YouTube channel is significantly higher, at 513,000 as of June 10, 2025. " sees itself as part of what it calls the resistance movement, and it is seen by other actors among the so-called new right as part of the scene," the BfV wrote. "The main feature of many of its published articles is agitation against the federal government and against the current political system." Examples cited by the BfV include abstruse conspiracy theories used to agitate against state institutions and pluralist society. "Historic revisionist content and antisemitic narratives round out the agenda," it added. Moreover, the report said, the outfit maintains ties with right-wing extremist groups like the German Identitarian movement (IBD) and the eastern German regional party the "Freie Sachsen," or Free Saxons. Faeser had leaned heavily on the constitution, Germany's Basic Law, in calling for the right-wing extremist publication to be banned. Article 9 of the Basic Law, which regulates freedom of assembly, reads: "Associations whose aims or activities contravene the criminal laws or that are directed against the constitutional order or the concept of international understanding shall be prohibited." Compact's editor-in-chief, Jürgen Elsässer, is a suspected right-wing extremist who belonged to the far left as a young man. Now in his 60s, Elsässer was once a member of the Communist Youth Wing and wrote for the newspaper, (). He later worked as a reporter for other left-wing media, including (New Germany), which was a key news organ for the socialist East German government when the country was still partitioned. After his victory in court, the editor-in-chief was triumphant, saying "we have defeated the dictatorial tendencies." Elsässer also thanked the judges, who he said had weighed up all sides in a strictly objective manner. Elsässer also believes this is a good sign for all those seeking to ban the far-right Alternative for Germany party. "Because if it was impossible to ban it is also impossible to ban the AfD," he said. A ban on the party has been under discussion for years. In addition to the federal government, the parliament (Bundestag) and the chamber of the federal states (Bundesrat) could submit a corresponding application to the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe. So far, however, there is no majority for this anywhere. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter, Berlin Briefing.
DW
5 days ago
- Politics
- DW
Germany press freedom: Ban on right-wing magazine is lifted – DW – 06/25/2025
A German court has ruled to lift the ban on the right-wing extremist magazine "Compact." The decision could also have consequences for the debate on banning the AfD. The decision by the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig not to ban the magazine was a difficult one, according to Judge Ingo Kraft. "However, the Basic Law guarantees freedom of opinion and freedom of the press even to the enemies of freedom, trusting in the power of free social debate," he said on Tuesday, June 24. The ruling is a defeat for former German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser who banned magazine in 2024. She justified the move, saying: "It's a central mouthpiece for the right-wing extremist scene. This magazine incites against Jews, people with ethnic migrant backgrounds and against our parliamentary democracy in the most abhorrent way." The judges now said there was reason to doubt whether freedom of the press and freedom of expression had been sufficiently taken into account in the ban. They argued that terms such as "remigration" and "cult of guilt" are covered by freedom of expression. This also applied to conspiracy theories and historical revisionist theories. A 2023 report from the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Germany's domestic intelligence agency, features an entire page dedicated to — a magazine and multimedia company headquartered in Falkensee, on the outskirts of Berlin. According to the BfV, the magazine's publisher says it sells 40,000 print copies a month. The number of subscribers to the YouTube channel is significantly higher, at 513,000 as of June 10, 2025. " sees itself as part of what it calls the resistance movement, and it is seen by other actors among the so-called new right as part of the scene," the BfV wrote. "The main feature of many of its published articles is agitation against the federal government and against the current political system." Still, Article 5 does put some limits on speech, saying, "These rights shall find their limits in the provisions of general laws, in provisions for the protection of young persons and in the right to personal honor." Examples cited by the BfV include abstruse conspiracy theories used to agitate against state institutions and pluralist society. "Historic revisionist content and antisemitic narratives round out the agenda," it added. Moreover, the report said, the outfit maintains ties with right-wing extremist groups like the German Identitarian movement (IBD) and the eastern German regional party the "Freie Sachsen," or Free Saxons. Wanting to send a signal Faeser had leaned heavily on the constitution, Germany's Basic Law, in calling for the right-wing extremist publication to be banned. Article 9 of the Basic Law, which regulates freedom of assembly, reads: "Associations whose aims or activities contravene the criminal laws or that are directed against the constitutional order or the concept of international understanding shall be prohibited." Compact's editor-in-chief, Jürgen Elsässer, is a suspected right-wing extremist who belonged to the far left as a young man. Now in his 60s, Elsässer was once a member of the Communist Youth Wing and wrote for the newspaper, (). He later worked as a reporter for other left-wing media, including (New Germany), which was a key news organ for the socialist East German government when the country was still partitioned. After his victory in court, the Compact editor-in-chief was triumphant: "We have defeated the dictatorial tendencies." He also thanked the judges, who had weighed up all sides in a strictly objective manner, said Elsässer. He also believes this is a good sign for all those seeking to ban the far-right Alternative for Germany party: "Because if it was impossible to ban it is also impossible to ban the AfD." A ban on the party has been under discussion for years. In addition to the federal government, the parliament (Bundestag) and the chamber of the federal states (Bundesrat) could submit a corresponding application to the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe. So far, however, there is no majority for this anywhere. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 videoWhile you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter, Berlin Briefing.
Straits Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
German court overturns ban on far-right magazine
BERLIN - A German court has overturned a ban on far-right magazine Compact that was accused of inciting hatred against Jews and foreigners, with a judge deciding on Tuesday that the publication was not extreme enough to justify it. The Federal Administrative Court's ruling dealt a blow to attempts to contain the nativist Alternative for Germany party, the second-largest in parliament after February's election, and its range of online and print outriders. Former Interior Minister Nancy Faeser banned the magazine, which had a circulation of 40,000 and a deep social media footprint, last July, labelling it a "mouthpiece of the right-wing extremist scene". In his ruling, however, Ingo Kraft said that although Compact contained many extreme statements, including voicing support for expelling German citizens of migrant background, they did not amount to proof that the organisation behind the magazine was "intrinsically" unconstitutional. "The Basic Law allows even its enemies freedom of opinion and of the press," Kraft wrote. The magazine's chief editor Juergen Elsaesser, who has said Compact wants to overthrow Germany's "regime" and describes himself as a supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, retweeted a picture of himself captioned with the single word: "Sieg!", or "Victory". For the AfD, which has long pursued a strategy of peppering the state with complicated lawsuits and parliamentary questions that slow its working and discredit them, the ruling is a morale boost after it underperformed polls in the election. Bjoern Hoecke, leader of the party's most radical wing, cast his party and the magazine as defenders of democratic norms against the previous Social Democrat interior minister's authoritarian instincts. "Instead of prosecuting Islamists, she hunted down harmless critics of the government," he wrote on social media. "She caused great harm to democracy." The Interior Ministry, now led by the conservative Alexander Dobrindt, did not immediately respond to an e-mailed request for comment. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Sun
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
German court overturns ban on far-right magazine Compact
BERLIN: A German court on Tuesday overturned a ban on the far-right Compact magazine which had been imposed by the government last year. The Federal Administrative Court said in its decision that while the magazine had published some 'anti-constitutional' material, the conditions for a ban had not been met. Presiding judge Ingo Kraft said that much of the magazine's output fell into the category of 'exaggerated but permissible criticism'. The previous interior minister, Nancy Faeser, issued the ban on Compact in July 2024, saying that it promoted 'unspeakable incitement against Jews, people with an immigrant background and against our parliamentary democracy'. Compact reacted jubilantly to the court ruling, saying on its X account that the verdict was a 'resounding slap in the face' for Faeser and a victory for 'press freedom'. German law allows for the interior ministry to ban an organisation if it deems it to be acting against the constitutional order. In 2021, the company that owns Compact had already been described by German domestic intelligence as 'extremist, nationalist and hostile to minorities'. Run by the far-right journalist Juergen Elsaesser, Compact described its editorial line as 'patriotic'. Compact has published articles supporting the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, castigating 'climate terrorists' and advocating for 'peace and friendship' with Russia.
