Encouragement of the masses to take action or express strong feelings. - The Appeals Court is endeavoring to clear a Holocaust skeptic of charges.
The High Court of Justice (BGH) is currently deliberating if denying the Holocaust in a written document sent to an authority also equates to promoting hatred, a criminal offense. This judgment was initially opposed by the Regional Court Munich II in regards to a letter penned by a previously convicted woman addressed to a tax office.
Given the limited audience and confidentiality concerns, the 4th Criminal Chamber in Karlsruhe believed there was no widespread dissemination, thereby acquitting the defendant. The BGH is currently reevaluating this verdict (at 9:30 am). The exact timing for a ruling remains unclear.
The situation revolves around Sylvia Stolz from Ebersberg, Upper Bavaria, who has previously been convicted twice for promoting hatred. It's alleged that in 2021, she dispatched a 339-page letter to the Munich Tax Office, filled with repeated Holocaust denial statements.
As per the Munich ruling, the matter centered around a tax-related concern on the first page. Holocaust denial claims spanned pages 36 to 89, challenging the universally acknowledged Holocaust – the mass extermination of European Jews by Nazi forces during World War II.
Tax secrecy and confidentiality
Investigations were initiated due to "Reichsbürger" suspicions, resulting in the police's involvement, and ultimately, the court case. The court deemed the document as an appeal for the tax process and treated it accordingly. Stolz asserted during her final statement that tax secrecy and confidentiality were applicable. However, Stolz's lawyer did not respond to a request before the BGH hearing.
The chamber concluded that Stolz neither desired nor consciously allowed her letter to reach a larger audience. Furthermore, the verdict considered aspects such as the "high level of data sensitivity at tax authorities and the obligation of confidentiality."
The 4th Criminal Chamber in Karlsruhe argued that Sylvia Stolz's Holocaust denial in her letter to the tax office did not lead to widespread dissemination, which might have been a mitigating factor in her acquittal. However, the High Court of Justice (BGH) is currently reevaluating this decision and is considering if Holocaust denial in such a context can be considered as promoting hatred, a criminal offense.
