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Reuters
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Germany rejects Russian allegations of journalist harassment
BERLIN, June 27 (Reuters) - A German foreign ministry official on Friday rejected "unfounded accusations" made by Russia's foreign ministry that Berlin had persecuted Russian journalists working in the country. "In contrast to Russia's increasingly harsh repression of journalists, Germany upholds the principles of the rule of law and freedom of the press," the official said in a statement. Russia summoned the German ambassador earlier on Friday to inform him of retaliatory measures in response to what it sees as the harassment of Russian journalists based in Germany, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. In a statement, the Russian ministry said the German ambassador, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, was informed that "Berlin should not continue the practice of systematic harassment of Russian journalists in Germany." Such "open unfriendly actions by the German authorities will inevitably be met with a response from the Russian side," the ministry said. Lambsdorff was quoted by the Izvestia outlet as saying the meeting, which lasted over two hours, was "interesting." "We discussed the working conditions of our correspondents. We will continue this dialogue."
CTV News
4 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
A German court lifts a government ban on a far-right magazine
Jürgen Elsässer, editor-in-chief of Compact, and his wife Stephanie Elsässer, arrive at the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig, Germany, Tuesday June 24, 2025. (Hendrik Schmidt/dpa via AP) BERLIN — A German court on Tuesday lifted a ban imposed by the government last year on a far-right magazine, ruling that the case against it didn't 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 that 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 pending a full consideration of the case. Following a hearing earlier this month, the court lifted the ban altogether on Tuesday. The court said in a statement that Germany's constitution guarantees 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 didn't reach that threshold. Compact is run by far-right figure Jürgen Elsässer, 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 ... antisemitic, anti-minority, historically revisionist and conspiracy theory content.' The strength of the far right has caused increasing concern in Germany in recent years.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
A German court lifts a government ban on a far-right magazine
BERLIN (AP) — A German court on Tuesday lifted a ban imposed by the government last year on a far-right magazine, ruling that the case against it didn't 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 that 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 pending a full consideration of the case. Following a hearing earlier this month, the court lifted the ban altogether on Tuesday. The court said in a statement that Germany's constitution guarantees 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 didn't reach that threshold. Compact is run by far-right figure Jürgen Elsässer, 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 ... antisemitic, anti-minority, historically revisionist and conspiracy theory content.' The strength of the far right has caused increasing concern in Germany in recent years.
Reuters
4 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
German court overturns ban on far-right magazine
BERLIN, June 24 (Reuters) - 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, opens new tab 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.
Al Arabiya
4 days ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
A German court lifts a government ban on a far-right magazine
A German court on Tuesday lifted a ban imposed by the government last year on a far-right magazine, ruling that the case against it didn't 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 extremist scene,' and said that '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 pending a full consideration of the case. Following a hearing earlier this month, the court lifted the ban altogether on Tuesday. The court said in a statement that Germany's constitution 'guarantees 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 didn't reach that threshold. Compact is run by far-right figure Jürgen Elsässer 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 antisemitic, anti-minority, historically revisionist, and conspiracy theory content. The strength of the far right has caused increasing concern in Germany in recent years.
