Processes - Trial for Nazi speech against Höcke continues
The Halle District Court resumes the trial against Thuringia AfD leader Bjoern Hoecke for using a banned Nazi slogan. The court scheduled an additional hearing day due to the need to discuss a large number of evidence submissions. The outcome of the court's decisions will determine if pleadings can be made and judgment pronounced at this final scheduled hearing day. Initially, only two hearing days were planned for the trial.
The public prosecutor accuses the AfD politician of uttering the forbidden Nazi slogan "Seig Heil" (All for Germany) at a party gathering of around 350 attendees in Gera, Thuringia, in December 2021. He reportedly spoke the first two words and, according to the prosecution, encouraged the audience to complete the phrase through gestures. This phrase was previously used by the SA (Sturmabteilung), the paramilitary wing of the Nazi party NSDAP.
Hoecke denies encouraging the audience and insists on his innocence. The 52-year-old also stated that he did not consider the usage of the slogan punishable. His lawyers requested the presence of a historian to discuss the meaning and spread of the phrase, arguing that it was not central to the SA and not widely disseminated. They also demanded that the attendees of the AfD gathering be identified and interviewed to prove that they were not coerced by Hoecke to complete the phrase.
For Hoecke, this is the second trial at the Halle District Court. On May 14, the 52-year-old was sentenced to a fine of 100 euros each for 130 instances for the same Nazi slogan used at a campaign event in Sachsen-Anhalt, Merseburg. The decision is not legally binding, as Hoecke has filed an appeal. The charges in both cases allege the use of symbols of unconstitutional and terrorist organizations.
Hoecke intends to run as the AfD's leading candidate in the Thuringia state elections on September 1, 2022. His party is classified as reliably extremist by the Thuringian Constitutional Protection Agency.
- The additional 'trial day' for Björn Höcke in Thuringia is necessary due to the 'large number of evidence submissions' related to his use of a banned Nazi slogan.
- The 'crime' committed by Höcke, as accused by the public prosecutor's office in Germany, involves uttering the forbidden phrase "Seig Heil" in Thuringia's Gera.
- The 'processes' against Höcke in Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia involve charges of using symbols of unconstitutional and terrorist organizations, specifically the Nazi slogan.
- The 'Regional court' in Saxony-Anhalt previously fined Höcke 100 euros each for 130 instances of using the Nazi slogan at a campaign event, a decision he has appealed.
- Despite being classified as 'reliably extremist' by the Thuringian Constitutional Protection Agency, Björn Höcke aims to be the 'leading candidate' for AfD in the upcoming Thuringia state elections.
