Justice - Saxony wants to take further action against "right-wing rock" concerts
Despite a court ruling in favor of an organizer of"right-wing rock" concerts, Saxony's Ministry of the Interior intends to continue taking action against such events. "We will not withdraw," said Interior Minister Armin Schuster (CDU) in Dresden on Tuesday. The Bautzen Higher Administrative Court (OVG) had made an urgent decision and had not ruled on the main issue. The ministry is taking this seriously and will examine the decision. In the meantime, the ministry is using its own tools. There must be a way to ensure that "right-wing rock" concerts and "Heil Hitler shouts" no longer take place.
Following the decision of the OVG, the organizer of the concerts by right-wing extremist bands - an innkeeper from the Staupitz district of Torgau - may retain his business license for the time being. As the court announced on Monday, the judges upheld an appeal by the man. In February, the public order office of the district of North Saxony had banned him from trading. The competent administrative court rejected an urgent appeal by the restaurateur in this matter, which is why the case went to the Higher Administrative Court.
According to the Bautzen Higher Administrative Court, numerous concerts by bands from the far-right scene had taken place in the restaurant. According to the findings of the constitutional protection authorities, criminal acts such as shouting "Sieg-Heil" or showing the Hitler salute had often occurred without the applicant intervening in his capacity as steward or organizer, it was said.
The OVG now asserted that findings about possible criminal offenses at the concerts, which were contained in official certificates from the Federal Office and the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution, may not be used by the restaurant supervisory authority or the court. This is based on the standards set by the Federal Constitutional Court for the transmission and use of data collected by intelligence services. This is only permissible for the prevention of particularly serious criminal offenses, but not for the prevention of the criminal offenses in question here.
The court also referred to the principle of separation between the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the police. "According to the provision, the Free State of Bavaria does not maintain a secret service with police powers." As there were no reasons beyond the "non-usable findings of the constitution protection authorities that would indicate the applicant's unreliability", this could not be established.
Interior Minister Schuster was surprised by the ruling. Dealing with certificates from the authorities has been a part of normality in recent decades. "That was a possibility that we don't have at the moment. But it is just one of many options we are using to prevent such events from taking place in Saxony. We don't want right-wing rock concerts in Saxony. There are still a number of ideas we have."
According to Schuster, his office wants to incorporate the judges' decision into the current debate on the Protection of the Constitution Act. The law is on the home straight. It is a key task to incorporate the ban on separation between the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the police into the law. "We will find a way not to make the work of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution impossible." A ban on separation does not mean that any form of cooperation should be discontinued.
Read also:
- The Ministry of the Interior in Dresden, led by Armin Schuster (CDU), aims to advance measures against "right-wing rock" events despite a court decision in their favor.
- The Bautzen Higher Administrative Court made an urgent decision but did not address the main issue, allowing an innkeeper from the Staupitz district of Torgau to retain his business license temporarily.
- The organizer had been banned by the public order office of the northern Saxony district due to numerous right-wing extremist concerts in his restaurant, leading to criminal acts like "Sieg-Heil" shouts.
- The court ruled that official certificates from the Federal Office and State Office for the Protection of the Constitution could not be used by the restaurant supervisory authority or the court due to data privacy concerns.
- The OVG asserted that there were no reasons beyond unuseful findings from the constitution protection authorities to indicate the innkeeper's unreliability.
- Surprised by the ruling, Interior Minister Schuster mentioned that dealing with certificates from authorities has been common practice, and Saxony will continue to incorporate alternative methods for preventing such concerts.
- Schuster wants to discuss the court decision in the current debate on the Protection of the Constitution Act and amend the law to maintain the Office for the Protection of the Constitution's effectiveness without fostering separation.
- Saxony's Ministry of the Interior will examine the OVG decision closely into the further development of policies to prevent "right-wing rock" concerts and extremist activities, primarily working with the district of northern Saxony and the Ministry of Justice.
Source: www.stern.de
