The District Court of Munich I temporarily bans posters with the words “Hang the Greens!” the right-wing extremist splinter party “The III. Way”. With a preliminary injunction on Friday, the court prohibited the party from using the slogan publicly, said a spokeswoman. The decision is not spatially limited and thus applies nationwide in principle.
Should representatives of the “III. Way” object, public negotiations would have to be held. Because the federal office of the Greens in Berlin had applied to the district court Munich I for an omission, the civil court was responsible.
Personal rights violated
The wording, “hanging” someone is generally understood to mean hanging someone up, killing someone in any other way or physically injuring them, according to the decision. With the statement, the general personal rights of the applicants – i.e. the Greens – are violated.
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Greens welcome judgment
“Those who post death threats mock our democracy,” commented the Federal Political Director of the Greens, Michael Kellner, on the court ruling: “Such an election campaign style poisons political culture, leads to brutalization and discourages citizens from becoming politically active.”
Bavaria’s police have already hung up posters
In Bavaria the police already have election posters for the right-wing extremist “III. Way” with the slogan “Hang the Greens!” suspended. The interior ministry announced last week that the police headquarters had been instructed to remove such posters based on the initial suspicion of a public request to commit crimes.
Chemnitz judges decided differently
The administrative court in Chemnitz, however, had decided that posters with this slogan could be left hanging despite a ban by the city of Zwickau, but only 100 meters away from posters by the Greens. The judgment, which was based on the fundamental right to freedom of expression, was criticized nationwide. On the other hand, Zwickau has lodged a complaint with the Bautzen Higher Administrative Court.