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DW
25-06-2025
- 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.
Times
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Times
Ban lifted on magazine said to be a ‘mouthpiece for right-wing extremists'
The German government's ban on a far-right magazine described as the 'central mouthpiece' of extremists has been overturned. Founded in 2010 and edited by Jürgen Elsässer, Compact magazine had considerable reach beyond the hard-right bubble. It claimed a print circulation of 40,000 a month and millions of views online. The magazine was officially classified as an 'extremist organisation' by Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz, in 2021. Among the conspiracy theories that it promotes is the concept of 're-migration', a dog whistle for deporting ethnic-minority Germans. Nancy Faeser took the step to ban the magazine last year when she was interior minister . She labelled Compact a 'central mouthpiece of the right-wing extremist scene' — citing its antisemitic, racist and anti-democratic content. A federal administrative court in Leipzig then suspended Faeser's ban, pending a final ruling on Compact's appeal, which was issued on Tuesday, declaring that even inflammatory speech remains protected under the country's laws. The presiding judge, Ingo Kraft, concluded that Compact's output, while polemic and sharply worded, did not cross the threshold into active hostility against the democratic order. 'The basic law guarantees freedom of opinion and the press even for enemies of freedom,' Kraft said. Germany's basic law provides MPs with the means to crack down on parties and speech like Holocaust denial that are deemed unconstitutional — a learning from its fascist past. However, there are no provisions allowing the ban of publications. The interior ministry had resorted to banning the organisation that publishes Compact. The court said, however, that this violated the proportionality requirements as subversive activities were not central to its mission. Even sharp critiques of migration policy and revisionist takes on history must be tolerated in a pluralistic democracy, the court argued. The ruling comes as a blow to proponents of a crackdown on extremism, as the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has surged to become Germany's second-largest party. In 2021, Germany's government had tightened laws punishing abuse against politicians. In one such case a journalist at a far-right magazine was convicted for sharing a manipulated image of Faeser showing her holding a fake sign with the words 'I hate freedom of opinion'. • What is AfD? The reasons behind rise of the hard right in Germany Elsässer celebrated the Compact ruling, and predicted that, if Compact could not be banned, then it would be impossible to ban the AfD. The Social Democrats, the junior partner in Germany's coalition government, announced on Monday that they would push to start proceedings on banning the AfD, which was also recently labelled 'extremist' by the Verfassungsschutz. Alexander Dobrindt, the current interior minister, said the government would respect and review the ruling, but added that 'banning organisations remains an applicable and possible tool against extremist endeavours'.
DW
25-06-2025
- 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.
7NEWS
25-06-2025
- Politics
- 7NEWS
Court lifts ban on far-right German publication Compact magazine
A German court has lifted a ban imposed by the government on a far-right magazine, ruling the case against it does not clear the high bar required to outlaw its publisher. Germany 's previous government banned Compact magazine and the company that publishes it, Compact-Magazin GmbH, in July. Then-interior minister Nancy Faeser described Compact as 'a central mouthpiece of the right-wing extremist scene', and said it 'agitates in an unspeakable way against Jews, against people with a history of migration and against our parliamentary democracy'. Compact appealed to the Federal Administrative Court, which suspended the ban in August 2024 pending a full consideration of the case. Following a hearing earlier in June, the court lifted the ban altogether on Tuesday. The court said Germany's constitution guaranteed freedom of the press and opinion 'even for the enemies of freedom' and that, on grounds of proportionality, a ban could only be justified if the publisher's anti-constitutional activities were proven to be 'formative' for the group. It said a review of the evidence showed that the material in question did not reach that threshold. Compact is run by far-right figure Jurgen Elsasser and produces the monthly magazine of the same name, which has a circulation of about 40,000, as well as an online video channel, Compact TV. It also runs an online shop selling books, CDs, DVDs and other merchandise. Compact has been published since 2010. In its annual report for 2023, Germany's domestic intelligence agency said that it 'regularly disseminates ... anti-Semitic, anti-minority, historically revisionist and conspiracy theory content'. The strength of the far right has caused increasing concern in Germany in recent years.
Times
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Times
German court lifts ban on ‘mouthpiece for right-wing extremists'
The German government's ban on a far-right magazine described as the 'central mouthpiece' of extremists has been overturned. Founded in 2010 and edited by Jürgen Elsässer, Compact magazine had considerable reach beyond the hard-right bubble. It claimed a print circulation of 40,000 a month and millions of views online. The magazine was officially classified as an 'extremist organisation' by Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz, in 2021. Among the conspiracy theories that it promotes is the concept of 're-migration', a dog whistle for deporting ethnic-minority Germans. The magazine promotes conspiracy theories SEAN GALLUP/GETTY IMAGES Nancy Faeser took the step to ban the magazine last year when she was interior minister . She labelled Compact a 'central mouthpiece of the right-wing extremist scene' — citing its antisemitic, racist and anti-democratic content. A federal administrative court in Leipzig then suspended Faeser's ban, pending a final ruling on Compact's appeal, which was issued on Tuesday, declaring that even inflammatory speech remains protected under the country's laws. The presiding judge, Ingo Kraft, concluded that Compact's output, while polemic and sharply worded, did not cross the threshold into active hostility against the democratic order. 'The basic law guarantees freedom of opinion and the press even for enemies of freedom,' Kraft said. Nancy Faeser ordered a ban on the magazine's publisher last year MAXIMILIAN SCHWARZ/REUTERS Germany's basic law provides MPs with the means to crack down on parties and speech like Holocaust denial that are deemed unconstitutional — a learning from its fascist past. However, there are no provisions allowing the ban of publications. The interior ministry had resorted to banning the organisation that publishes Compact. The court said, however, that this violated the proportionality requirements as subversive activities were not central to its mission. Even sharp critiques of migration policy and revisionist takes on history must be tolerated in a pluralistic democracy, the court argued. The ruling comes as a blow to proponents of a crackdown on extremism, as the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has surged to become Germany's second-largest party. In 2021, Germany's government had tightened laws punishing abuse against politicians. In one such case a journalist at a far-right magazine was convicted for sharing a manipulated image of Faeser showing her holding a fake sign with the words 'I hate freedom of opinion'. • What is AfD? The reasons behind rise of the hard right in Germany Elsässer celebrated the Compact ruling, and predicted that, if Compact could not be banned, then it would be impossible to ban the AfD. The Social Democrats, the junior partner in Germany's coalition government, announced on Monday that they would push to start proceedings on banning the AfD, which was also recently labelled 'extremist' by the Verfassungsschutz. Alexander Dobrindt, the current interior minister, said the government would respect and review the ruling, but added that 'banning organisations remains an applicable and possible tool against extremist endeavours'.
