Extreme right-wing "Compact" magazine resists ban in court
She referred to it as "a central megaphone of the right-wing extremist scene." It incites "unbearable hatred towards Jews and Jews, people with migration backgrounds, and our parliamentary Democracy."
The business premises of "Compact" in Brandenburg, Hessen, Sachsen, and Sachsen-Anhalt, as well as the residences of leading employees, the management, and significant shareholders, were searched on the previous Tuesday. Seizures of assets and other evidence were planned.
The Compact-Magazin GmbH company led by activist Jürgen Elsässer was classified as reliably extremist, volkisch-nationalist, and anti-minority by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution as early as 2021.
According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the main products of the company are the "Compact" magazine, which has been published monthly since December 2010 with an circulation of 40,000 copies, and the Compact TV online video channel on YouTube, which has 345,000 subscribers and has released nearly 2900 videos. The ban prohibits "any further activity in the past."
Elsässer himself, according to the Constitutional Protection Report 2023, acts as a "central coordinator." For example, besides collaborating with the right-wing extremist regional party Freie Sachsen, there is also the networking with the AfD. Furthermore, the association has close ties to the right-wing extremist Identitarian Movement.
A lawsuit and an application for interim relief went to the court on Wednesday evening in Leipzig, according to court records. It was still unclear when the Federal Administrative Court would make a decision in this case.
The SPD (Social Democratic Party) in Saxony-Anhalt has publicly denounced the activities of Compact Magazine, labeling it as a platform that promotes hatred towards certain groups and democracy. The court in Leipzig is currently considering a lawsuit and application for interim relief against the ban of Compact Magazine, initiated by Jürgen Elsässer and his associates. Despite the ban, the company's main products, including the Compact magazine and Compact TV, continue to be widely accessible, with over 40,000 copies of the magazine and 345,000 subscribers on YouTube. Nancy Faeser, the Federal Minister of the Interior, has stated that the company's leadership and significant shareholders had their business premises and residences searched earlier. This action followed the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution's classification of Compact-Magazin GmbH as reliably extremist, volkisch-nationalist, and anti-minority. Despite the ban, Jürgen Elsässer continues to act as a central coordinator, collaborating with right-wing extremist groups such as the AfD and the Identitarian Movement. His networking with these organizations has raised concerns about the forbidden activities and the potential threat to democracy.
