Posted on 12/04/2024 5:58:04 AM PST by MtnClimber
A victim of the Mannheim terror attack in Germany has now been convicted of anti-Islam hate speech.
Earlier this year, activist and blogger Michael Stürzenberger became the victim of an Islamist attack because of his harsh criticism of Islam. Now, six months later, he has been convicted for incitement to hatred and given a fine by a regional court in Hamburg – also because of his harsh criticism of Islam.
In May, a former refugee from Afghanistan targeted and attacked Stürzenberger and six others during a rally organised by Stürzenberger’s campaign group, Pax Europa, in Mannheim, south-west Germany. The incident left one policeman dead, Stürzenberger severely injured – he needed several operations on his face and knee – and a nation in shock.
Stürzenberger’s incitement conviction is not directly related to the incidents in Mannheim. Instead, it relates to statements he made at a rally in Hamburg in 2020. He was originally found guilty of incitement to hatred and given a six-month prison sentence at a Hamburg court in September 2022, but appealed the conviction. Last month the court upheld the original verdict, but reduced his sentence to a fine of €3,600.
According to reports, his punishment was reduced because he had since become a victim of an assassination attempt. Another mitigating factor was that he had not given any public speeches since the Mannheim attack.
The Stürzenberg case shows how dangerous, intimidating and anti-democratic Germany’s laws against incitement to hatred and hate speech are. It would be difficult to find a country in Western Europe that restricts free speech as radically as Germany does – especially when it comes to criticising Islam. Indeed, the German elites regard criticism of Islam as an act of right-wing extremism that needs to be censored.
This is why Stürzenberger, infamous for his anti-Islam stance, has been the subject of so much scrutiny from the authorities and the mainstream media. As far back as 2014, Der Spiegel published a feature on Stürzenberger and others criticising their ‘anti-Islam rhetoric’ and asking ‘whether it’s time for a new kind of hate-crime legislation’.
There’s little doubt that Stürzenberger can be offensive. He claims that his criticism only applies to ‘political Islam’, calling it a threat to democracy and an ideology that oppresses women. But he has also compared parts of the Koran with Hitler’s Mein Kampf, and – while saying that not all Muslims are rapists – has talked of ‘thousands of women’ who have been sexually assaulted by Muslims from Northern Africa and Arabia.
Still, such statements hardly warrant the harsh, legal persecution that Stürzenberger has faced. It is difficult to escape the impression that he has been targeted by German political and media elites because of their fear of right-wing populism. That is, they fear his criticism of Islam will further fuel the rise of the populist right. After all, Stürzenberger gives voice to many Germans’ scepticism and rejection of mass migration from majority Muslim countries.
Indeed, over a decade ago, the then mayor of Munich said how worried he was about Stürzenberger making his speeches against the background of rising support for the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD). He claimed that populists were trying to appeal to people through anti-Islam rhetoric.
It seems German elites have responded by trying to clamp down on criticism of Islam. This determination to censor Islam’s critics, and therefore suppress the populist surge, was reflected in the mainstream media’s coverage of the Mannheim terror attacks. They largely refused to characterise Stürzenberger as any sort of victim, despite the severity of his injuries. One article in the left-liberal taz newspaper simply stated that ‘Bavarian Michael Stürzenberger has been agitating against Islam for years [and] now he has been seriously injured by a knife attacker’. In other words, he brought it on himself....SNIP
The democRATs would bring this chaos here tomorrow if they could. For now they are just “progressively” getting to this state of chaos.
Condolences to Sturzenberger and the dead policeman’s family and friends. Submit or be incarcerated and/or murdered for speech. Islam and the government ALERT!
Ah, the Germans sure know how to target someone already under fire. Ovens are being restored, and they’re not gonna be baking bread.
If this is the case that I remember, what happened was that there was some Muslim in the square knifing anyone he could find, so the German dude tackles him and holds him down until the cops show up.
Then the cop shows up, and instead of arresting the Muslim, he starts to arrest the German dude and lets the Muslim loose. Too bad for the idiot cop’s family - the Muslim, once loose, got behind the cop and knifed the cop, killing him.
Germany is not, and never has been, an ally of the United States. They are a conquered people who hate those that bested them and put a bullet into their demented dreams. NATO has been taken over by a new breed of communism married to fascism and they mean to drag their own people and America into hell. I believe it is the intent of the Germans to convert their populace to Islam and then dominate the world through their Muslim allies.
“Then the cop shows up, and instead of arresting the Muslim, he starts to arrest the German dude and lets the Muslim loose. Too bad for the idiot cop’s family - the Muslim, once loose, got behind the cop and knifed the cop, killing him.”
The communist anarchist cop got what was coming to him for being a traitor and an oppressive government goon. I call it a happy ending.
They would run into trouble with protected groups clashing such as Muslims opposing Transpeople in bathrooms
Telling the truth must be one of the most heinous crimes you can commit in progressive Germany.
bkmk
bkmk
“The communist anarchist cop got what was coming to him for being a traitor and an oppressive government goon. I call it a happy ending.”
Believe me, that was the thought in my head!
Actually, the photo posted shows the Muslim knife attack just prior to the German pig being stabbed. The guy on the ground is the innocent German dude.
I remember the incident and my comment was not based on the photo. I still back my comment 100%. The police in any country are government enforcers and, when the government is just then the police are just. When the government is unjust the very same officers become enforcers of evil and terror. From the actions of the police in Germany we can see that their government has devolved into an occupying for e hostile to the natives.
This is insane. Talk about pathetic woke cowardness. At what point do you realize that the government doesn’t get to police opinion, no matter how ‘offensive’?
So here, we have somebody that is a victim of a supremacist ideology that is being punished for having a negative opinion of said ideology. An ideology where countless ‘leaders’ of the ideology openly state that their plan is to take over. You can’t get more nuts that that.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
Article 19
1. Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference.
2. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice.
3. The exercise of the rights provided for in paragraph 2 of this article carries with it special duties and responsibilities. It may therefore be subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary:
(a) For respect of the rights or reputations of others;
(b) For the protection of national security or of public order (ordre public), or of public health or morals.
Article 20
1. Any propaganda for war shall be prohibited by law.
2. Any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence shall be prohibited by law.
https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/ProfessionalInterest/ccpr.pdf
Article 20, clause 2 is why the UK & Germany censor/punish people.
The US is a state party the Covenant too. What is being done in the UK could happen here.
Lindsey Graham, Nikki Haley could be punished under clause 1.
Israel should insist Western Europe deport its Muslims.
Within ten years the best European arms will be given to Muslim terrorists if the deportation does not occur.
Why isn’t the Koran banned under 20.2?
Or waving their nations flag. Recall Angela Merkel recoiling in horror when someone tried to hand her a tiny German flag to wave at a rally.
“The foreigners who reside among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and lower.” Deuteronomy 28:43
This happens when a nation forgets God. Evil rules over them. This allows the spirit of lawless anti-Christ to rise up.
I would say the Brits are close to Germany when it comes to stifling free speech. Australia is also high on the list. The Brits are even trying to threaten Americans with arrest for saying things the Brits don’t like. Australia also banned Candice Owens from entering the country. A Jewish group accused her of spreading hate and disinformation for her opposition to the Gaza war. I don’t agree with her on that issue but she has a right to her opinion and she isn’t spreading hate or disinformation. The democrats in this country would love to have control over speech like Germany, England and Australia. Hillary Clinton said the quiet part out loud when she said we will lose total control if we don’t have control over information. I know she’s a notorious liar but I believe her in this instance. She is exactly the type of person we are fighting against.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.