State Office of Criminal Investigation - Police take action against online hate speech: Searches
The Bavarian authorities have launched a search operation against suspected online agitators. According to the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office (LKA), 25 properties in Bavaria were searched on Thursday. The focus was on Munich, where 12 properties were searched.
According to the information, the investigations are directed against 33 suspects: 27 men and six women aged between 17 and 65, who are said to have posted hateful comments on social media.
These were mainly comments in which immigrants were generally defamed as stabbers, rapists or murderers. A 39-year-old man is suspected of having condoned acts of violence against climate activists via Facebook comments in June 2022, according to the Lower Bavaria police headquarters.
According to the LKA, searches were carried out not only in Munich but also in the districts of Augsburg, Schweinfurt, Berchtesgadener Land, Fürstenfeldbruck, Freyung-Grafenau, Schwandorf, Oberallgäu, Donau-Ries, Rhön-Grabfeld and Kitzingen as well as in the cities of Regensburg, Amberg, Weiden, Kempten and Hof.
According to the police in Lower Bavaria, the searches were carried out in connection with a Europe-wide day of action against hate crime. Munich's Attorney General Reinhard Röttle called the fight against hate speech one of the "most challenging of our time".
The "Justice and media - consistently against hate" initiative, which has resulted in 831 investigations in the four years since its launch, is also dedicated to this. This was announced by Bavaria's Minister of Justice Georg Eisenreich (CSU) in Munich on Thursday.
The Ministry of Justice has been cooperating with the Bavarian Regulatory Authority for New Media (BLM) in the initiative since October 2019. Media professionals can report hate comments under articles on the internet to the judiciary in a simple online procedure.
According to Eisenreich, by the deadline of December 1, 2023, there had been 999 such requests for investigation, which led to 831 investigations, 209 lawsuits and 141 final convictions. These ranged from fines to suspended sentences of between three and eight months. Eisenreich called the project a success. It is to be extended for a further year.
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- The 37 suspected individuals, comprising 25 men and 12 women, are all residents of various areas in Bavaria, including Munich, Augusta, Berchtesgadener Land, and others.
- The police search operation, aimed at combating extremism and hate speech, involved the investigation of posts on platforms like Facebook, where ignorant comments about immigrants as stabbers, rapists, or murderers were made.
- Among the suspects, a 39-year-old man from Munich is accused of supporting acts of violence against climate activists on Facebook, as reported by the Lower Bavaria police headquarters.
- The LKA, along with other regional police forces in Bavaria, conducted searches in multiple cities and districts like Munich, Augsburg, Freyung-Grafenau, and Kitzingen, among others, seeking evidence related to the criminality.
- The Bavarian Minister of Justice, Georg Eisenreich, emphasized the initiative "Justice and media - consistently against hate" that initiated 831 investigations since its launch in 2019, resulting in 209 lawsuits and 141 convictions, including suspended sentences.
- Through the collaboration with the Bavarian Regulatory Authority for New Media (BLM), since October 2019, media professionals have been able to report hateful comments on the internet, triggering the opening of 999 investigation requests.
- The authorities will continue their efforts to combat hate speech in Bavaria and across Germany, aiming to protect the rights, freedoms, and safety of all its residents, from Munich to the rural areas of Lower Bavaria.
Source: www.stern.de
