Status: 05/28/2022 7:50 p.m
The Internet is not a legal vacuum, but there are evidently deficits in criminal prosecution in Germany. An action by the “ZDF Magazin Royal” has now even led to investigations into criminal prosecution within the police.
A research campaign by moderator Jan Böhmermann for his show “ZDF Magazin Royal” for the prosecution of hate crimes on the Internet has consequences for officials at police authorities in several federal states.
In Bremen, the public prosecutor’s office is investigating a police officer on suspicion of frustration. Internal investigations were also launched in Saxony-Anhalt. Since “the specific allegations became known in the last week”, investigations have been carried out against an officer at the police station on suspicion of thwarting the said the Magdeburg police inspection.
The episode of “ZDF Magazin Royale” was on Friday evening action posted online and also broadcast on TV.
Mostly sluggish investigation process
Last summer, the editors behind moderator Böhmermann reported seven obviously criminally relevant hate messages to police departments in all 16 federal states and later described the mostly sluggish course of the investigation.
Death threats were displayed, as were anti-Semitic content and anti-constitutional, right-wing extremist symbols. In some federal states, the ads were not even accepted.
Studies in several states
In Bremen, the police officer is said to have recorded the complaint, but only recorded it in the system two months later when the complainants asked. Now it must be checked why the matter was processed late, said the spokesman for the public prosecutor in Bremen. The police officer concerned was transferred to the office, as the Bremen police announced on Tuesday would have. At this time, the Böhmermann research was not yet public knowledge.
In Saxony-Anhalt, a police officer from Magdeburg was quoted by the editors as saying: “You found something on the Internet? Maybe you should try consumer protection.” Such a thing is “not police work,” said a reaction from the Magdeburg police: “According to current knowledge, no criminal complaint was received here at the time.” The matter is being investigated thoroughly and comprehensively. Investigations into the specific case are ongoing.
Hessian police sensitized since the Lübcke case
There was praise for the police in Hesse on the show. Everything was done there in eleven minutes. At least one suspect has been charged there.
The Hessian police saw themselves confirmed. “Ever since the murder of District President Walter Lübcke, we have been taking the fight against hate and hate speech very seriously, including on the Internet,” said a spokesman for the Hessian Ministry of the Interior.