extremism
Trial against Horst Mahler for hate speech begins
Horst Mahler, former NPD lawyer, comes to his trial for incitement to hatred and denial of the Holocaust in the courtroom. photo
© Fabian Sommer/dpa
The former co-founder of the Red Army Faction RAF committed himself to right-wing extremism many years ago. Now the former NPD lawyer is again on trial for incitement to hatred.
The former NPD lawyer and Holocaust denier Horst Mahler has had to answer again since Tuesday for hate speech and denial of the National Socialist genocide of the Jews. According to the indictment, the Potsdam District Court is dealing with eleven acts between 2013 and 2017, which the 86-year-old is said to have committed in part from the prison sentence he was serving at the time.
Mahler is said to have distributed the inflammatory writings via e-mail lists and websites. In the process, six charges by the Cottbus public prosecutor’s office were combined. Increased security measures were ordered for the trial. The defendant’s ability to stand trial is limited due to his state of health. The seriously ill 86-year-old arrived in a wheelchair. Supporters sat in the hall and applauded him at the start of the process. When the court dealt with his citizenship, Mahler said: “German Reich”. He had already been convicted several times for Holocaust denial and had served his prison sentences from 2009 to October 2020 with a break in prison in Brandenburg/Havel. Mahler was once a co-founder of the left-wing extremist Red Army Faction (RAF) and later turned to right-wing extremism.
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