BERLIN — German Economy Minister Robert Habeck has pressed criminal charges pertaining to hate speech in 730 cases since April last year, his ministry said.
“Many politicians are exposed to hate, insults and even death threats, which are spread on a massive scale, particularly online. Minister Robert Habeck has decided not to simply accept this, but to take action against cases that violate the law,” a spokesperson from his ministry told POLITICO on Tuesday in reaction to an earlier report by German newspaper Welt (which, like POLITICO, is owned by Axel Springer).
A string of violent attacks on politicians in Germany in the run-up to the European Parliament election in June sparked a national debate over escalating political violence and an increasingly raw political climate.
As state elections approach in three eastern German states in September, similar reports of attacks are surfacing again.
Adeline Abimnwi Awemo, a Cameroon-born politician for the Christian Democratic Union, was racially abused and physically attacked while putting up election posters in the state of Brandenburg last week.
Only days before, Dirk Neubauer — an administrator in the state of Saxony, who is not affiliated to a party but understood to be left-leaning — resigned, citing threats from the far-right Free Saxony party and its followers.
Within national parliament, members of Habeck’s Green Party are the most frequent victims of attacks against lawmakers, according to statistics from the Bundestag. Last year, 1,219 of a total of 2,790 recorded cases affected politicians from the Greens. That comprises nearly 44 percent.
In light of the current situation, Habeck’s security protocol — which already requires him to be accompanied by bodyguards — has been tightened, Welt reported. His ministry declined to comment on this, citing security reasons.
Some emails in the Welt report contain clear death threats: “Your head will roll, you have the choice of whether it goes peacefully or whether we do it by force. We will hang you.”
Habeck — who also serves as the country’s vice chancellor — is supported by the nonprofit organization Hate Aid when it comes to filing charges against hate mail and emails containing death threats.
A specialist law firm handles online cases of hate speech against him, a spokesperson for his ministry said.
Regarding online hate speech, the goal is to delete the comment, get a signed cease-and-desist declaration and claim monetary compensation, the spokesperson said.
She added: “Any monetary compensation — subtracting costs incurred — is donated in full to a charitable organization that promotes civil courage online.”
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