Latest news with #Compact
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
German court debates ban of far-right magazine Compact
A German court is debating whether the previous government was right to ban far-right magazine Compact, a publication classified as right-wing extremist by domestic intelligence. Then-interior minister Nancy Faeser banned the magazine in July 2024, describing it as the "central mouthpiece of the far-right extremist scene." But the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig provisionally suspended the ban in urgent proceedings shortly afterwards, allowing Compact to continue publication for the time being. The court is now set to hand down a ruling in main proceedings, which kicked off on Tuesday. Wednesday's hearing centred on the question of whether individual statements made in the magazine should be considered expressions of opinion and therefore be protected by press freedom and freedom of expression, or whether they should be considered anti-constitutional and pose a concrete threat. Excerpts presented to the court by the Interior Ministry on more than 240 pages include terms and statements including "Passdeutsche" (passport Germans), "Volksaustausch" (great replacement), "Vernichtungsschlag gegen das deutsche Volk" (destruction of the German people) and "Deutscher ist ein Mensch mit deutscher Herkunft" (a German is a person of German origin). According to the ministry's legal representative Wolfgang Roth, the text passages demonstrate that the makers of Compact are striving for "absolute homogeneity or a rescue of the intercultural identity of the German people". The defence team has rejected the accusations, describing them as polemics. The statements made did not reveal any "political concept pursuing an anti-constitutional goal," said lawyer Ulrich Vosgerau. Judges in Leipzig have scheduled another hearing in the case for Thursday, as it appears increasingly unlikely that a ruling will be made this week.
DW
11-06-2025
- Politics
- DW
German court to rule on banned right-wing extremist magazine – DW – 06/10/2025
The right-wing extremist magazine Compact was outlawed in 2024, but it's available on newsstands again after winning an appeal. Now, Germany's Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig will have the final word. In July 2024, then Interior Minister Nancy Faeser banned Compact magazine. She justified the move, saying: "It's a central mouthpiece for the right-wing extremist scene. This magazine incites against Jews, people with ethnic migrant backgrounds and against our parliamentary democracy in the most abhorrent way." Compact sees itself as part of 'resistance movement' A 2023 report from the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Germany's domestic intelligence agency, features an entire page dedicated to Compact — a magazine and multimedia company headquartered in Falkensee, on the outskirts of Berlin. According to the BfV, the magazine's publisher says it sells 40,000 print copies a month. The number of subscribers to the Compact YouTube channel is significantly higher, at 513,000 as of June 10, 2025. "Compact sees itself as part of what it calls the resistance movement, and it is seen by other actors among the so-called new right as part of the scene," the BfV wrote. "The main feature of many of its published articles is agitation against the federal government and against the current political system." Ties to extremist Identitarian movement Examples cited by the BfV include abstruse conspiracy theories used to agitate against state institutions and pluralist society. "Historic revisionist content and antisemitic narratives round out the agenda," it added. Moreover, the report said, the outfit maintains ties with right-wing extremist groups like the German Identitarian movement (IBD) and the eastern German regional party the "Freie Sachsen," or Free Saxons. Former Interior Minister Nancy Faeser banned Compact in July 2024 Image: AFP Faeser said the message was clear — we will not allow anyone to define who does and does not belong in Germany by their ethnicity. "Our constitutional state protects all those who have been attacked because of their religion, their origins, their skin color or their desire to live in a democracy," she said last July. Faeser wanted to send a signal Faeser leaned heavily on the constitution, Germany's Basic Law, in calling for the right-wing extremist publication to be banned. Article 9 of the Basic Law, which regulates freedom of assembly, reads: "Associations whose aims or activities contravene the criminal laws or that are directed against the constitutional order or the concept of international understanding shall be prohibited." Compact's editor-in-chief, Jürgen Elsässer, is a suspected right-wing extremist who belonged to the far left as a young man. Now in his 60s, Elsässer was once a member of the Communist Youth Wing and wrote for the newspaper, Arbeiterkampf (The Workers' Fight). He later worked as a reporter for other left-wing media, including Neue Deutschland (New Germany), which was a key news organ for the socialist East German government when the country was still partitioned. Elsässer (right) was joined in Leipzig by CompactTV boss Paul Klemm Image: Jan Woitas/dpa/picture alliance Compact can publish until final verdict Elsässer and other plaintiffs fought the ban on his media operations before the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig. He was partially successful in August 2024 when it was determined that he could continue publishing Compact until a final verdict had been handed down. In granting its stay, the court said the outcome of the case remained unclear as it had yet to be determined whether Compact had acted against the constitutional order. The court did, however, immediately find evidence of violations of human dignity in which citizens with migrant backgrounds were demeaned. Notwithstanding, it also voiced doubt as to whether that was enough to justify a ban. For that would represent the most serious intervention possible regarding speech and press freedoms guaranteed in Article 5 of the Basic Law. Where does press freedom begin and end? Still, Article 5 does put some limits on speech, saying, "These rights shall find their limits in the provisions of general laws, in provisions for the protection of young persons and in the right to personal honor." The trial to define where press freedoms in Germany begin and end will start on June 10. It's unclear when a decision will be handed down. What are Germany's limits on free speech? To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video This text was originally written in German.
Time of India
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Germany: Court to rule on press freedom for banned magazine
AP image In July 2024, then Interior Minister Nancy Faeser banned Compact magazine. She justified the move, saying: "It's a central mouthpiece for the right-wing extremist scene. This magazine incites against Jews, people with ethnic migrant backgrounds and against our parliamentary democracy in the most abhorrent way. " Compact sees itself as part of 'resistance movement' A 2023 report from the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Germany's domestic intelligence agency, features an entire page dedicated to Compact — a magazine and multimedia company headquartered in Falkensee, on the outskirts of Berlin. According to the BfV, the magazine's publisher says it sells 40,000 print copies a month. The number of subscribers to the Compact YouTube channel is significantly higher, at 513,000 as of June 10, 2025. " Compact sees itself as part of what it calls the resistance movement, and it is seen by other actors among the so-called new right as part of the scene," the BfV wrote. "The main feature of many of its published articles is agitation against the federal government and against the current political system." Ties to extremist Identitarian movement Examples cited by the BfV include abstruse conspiracy theories used to agitate against state institutions and pluralist society. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch CFD với công nghệ và tốc độ tốt hơn IC Markets Đăng ký Undo "Historic revisionist content and antisemitic narratives round out the agenda," it added. Moreover, the report said, the outfit maintains ties with right-wing extremist groups like the German Identitarian movement (IBD) and the eastern German regional party the "Freie Sachsen," or Free Saxons. Faeser said the message was clear — we will not allow anyone to define who does and does not belong in Germany by their ethnicity. "Our constitutional state protects all those who have been attacked because of their religion, their origins, their skin colour or their desire to live in a democracy," she said last July. Faeser wanted to send a signal Faeser leaned heavily on the constitution, Germany's Basic Law, in calling for the right-wing extremist publication to be banned. Article 9 of the Basic Law, which regulates freedom of assembly, reads: "Associations whose aims or activities contravene the criminal laws or that are directed against the constitutional order or the concept of international understanding shall be prohibited." Compact's editor-in-chief, Jürgen Elsässer, is a suspected right-wing extremist who belonged to the far left as a young man. Now in his 60s, Elsässer was once a member of the Communist Youth Wing and wrote for the newspaper, Arbeiterkampf ( The Workers' Fight ). He later worked as a reporter for other left-wing media, including Neue Deutschland (New Germany), which was a key news organ for the socialist East German government when the country was still partitioned. Compact can publish until final verdict Elsässer and other plaintiffs fought the ban on his media operations before the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig. He was partially successful in August 2024 when it was determined that he could continue publishing Compact until a final verdict had been handed down. In granting its stay, the court said the outcome of the case remained unclear as it had yet to be determined whether Compact had acted against the constitutional order. The court did, however, immediately find evidence of violations of human dignity in which citizens with migrant backgrounds were demeaned. Notwithstanding, it also voiced doubt as to whether that was enough to justify a ban. For that would represent the most serious intervention possible regarding speech and press freedoms guaranteed in Article 5 of the Basic Law. Where does press freedom begin and end? Still, Article 5 does put some limits on speech, saying, "These rights shall find their limits in the provisions of general laws, in provisions for the protection of young persons and in the right to personal honour." The trial to define where press freedoms in Germany begin and end will start on June 10. It's unclear when a decision will be handed down.
DW
10-06-2025
- Politics
- DW
Germany: Court to rule on press freedom for banned magazine – DW – 06/10/2025
The right-wing extremist magazine 'Compact' was outlawed in 2024 but is available again after winning an appeal. Now, Germany's Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig will have the final word. In 2024, then Interior Minister Nancy Faeser banned Compact magazine. She justified the move, saying: "It's a central mouthpiece for the right-wing extremist scene. This magazine incites against Jews, people with ethnic migrant backgrounds and against our parliamentary democracy in the most abhorrent way." 'Compact' YouTube channel has many subscribers A 2023 report from the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Germany's domestic intelligence agency, features an entire page dedicated to Compact — a magazine and multi-media company headquartered in Falkensee, on the outskirts of Berlin. According to the BfV, Compact's publisher says it sells 40,000 print copies a month. The number of subscribers to Compact's YouTube channel is significantly higher at 513,000 as of June 10, 2025. "Compact sees itself as part of what it calls the resistance movement, and it is seen by other actors among the so-called new right as part of the scene," the BfV wrote. "The main feature of many of its published articles is agitation against the federal government and against the current political system." Ties to the Identitarian movement Examples cited by the BfV include abstruse conspiracy theories used to agitate against state institutions and pluralist society. "Historic revisionist content and antisemitic narratives round out the agenda." Moreover, the report said, the outfit maintains ties with right-wing extremist groups like the German Identitarian movement (IBD) and the eastern German regional party the "Freie Sachsen," or Free Saxons. Faeser said the message was clear — we will not allow anyone to define who does and does not belong in Germany by their ethnicity. "Our constitutional state protects all those who have been attacked because of their religion, their origins, their skin color or their desire to live in a democracy." Then Interior Minister Nancy Faeser banned 'Compact' in July 2024 Image: AFP Nancy Faeser wanted to send a signal Then Interior Minister Faeser leaned heavily on Germany's Basic Law in calling for the right-wing extremist publication to be banned. Article 9 of the Basic Law, which regulates freedom of assembly, reads: "Associations whose aims or activities contravene the criminal laws or that are directed against the constitutional order or the concept of international understanding shall be prohibited." Compact's editor-in-chief, Jürgen Elsässer, is a suspected right-wing extremist who belonged to the far-left as a young man. Now in his 60s, Elsässer was once a member of the Communist Youth Wing and wrote for the newspaper, Arbeiterkampf (The Workers' Fight). He later worked as a reporter for other left-wing media, including Neue Deutschland (New Germany), which was a key news organ for the socialist East German government when the country was still partitioned. Elsässer was joined in Leipzig by CompactTV boss Paul Klemm Image: Jan Woitas/dpa/picture alliance Jürgen Elsässer fighting before the court Elsässer and other plaintiffs fought the ban on his media operations before the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig. He was partially successful in August 2024 when it was determined that he could continue publishing Compact until a final verdict had been handed down. In granting its stay, the court said the outcome of the case remained unclear as it had yet to be determined whether Compact had acted against the constitutional order. The court did, however, immediately find evidence of violations of human dignity in which citizens with migrant backgrounds were demeaned. Notwithstanding, it also voiced doubt as to whether that was enough to justify a ban. For that would represent the most serious intervention possible regarding speech and press freedoms guaranteed in Article 5 of the Basic Law. Where does press freedom begin and end? Still, Article 5 does put some limits on speech, saying, "These rights shall find their limits in the provisions of general laws, in provisions for the protection of young persons and in their right to personal honor." The trial to define where press freedoms in Germany begin and end will start on June 10. It is unclear when a decision will be handed down. What are Germany's limits on free speech? To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video This text was originally published in German.
DW
10-06-2025
- Politics
- DW
German police say AfD membership incompatible with service – DW – 06/10/2025
Skip next section German court to hear case on right-wing extremist magazine ban 06/10/2025 June 10, 2025 German court to hear case on right-wing extremist magazine ban The Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig is set to hear a case regarding the ban on the right-wing extremist magazine Compact. In August, the Federal Administrative Court temporarily lifted the ban on the magazine, which was issued by Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD). The court expressed particular doubts about the ban's proportionality. This allowed the magazine, which was based in Brandenburg at the time, to resume publication under certain conditions. The Interior Ministry first banned Compact in mid-July, describing the publication as a "central mouthpiece of the right-wing extremist scene." In response, Compact filed a lawsuit and an urgent motion against the immediate enforcement of the ban. The final decision is now pending in the main proceedings.
