Nationwide investigation
70 apartments searched because of hate comments
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The police are launching 130 measures nationwide against hate speech on the Internet. Half of the hate posts come from right-wing extremist circles. But foreign and religious ideologies are also registered much more frequently.
The authorities have carried out searches nationwide against those suspected of being responsible for hate and hate speech online. The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) said a total of more than 70 apartments were searched that morning and numerous suspects were questioned. In total, there were more than 130 police measures in all federal states, said a spokesman for the authority. “Once again, over half of the hate posts processed could be attributed to the phenomenon of politically motivated crime – right-wing,” explained the BKA, which coordinated the day of action.
“We must stop the spiral of hate and violence,” said Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser. “The hate that is spread online is a breeding ground for violence.” That is why the BKA, together with the state police, is taking consistent action against hate crime. “More than 130 measures nationwide today are exactly the tough approach we need.”
On the one hand, this is directed against Islamist and anti-Semitic agitation that glorifies the terror of Hamas and denies Israel's existence. “We act just as decisively against right-wing extremist and anti-democratic hate posts, including disgusting death threats against officials and elected officials in our country,” said Faeser.
Nazi symbols and threats against politicians
According to the BKA, around a third of the cases involved politically motivated crimes that could not clearly be assigned to a political direction. Some cases also occurred in the areas of “foreign ideology” and “religious ideology”.
The Federal Criminal Police Office said the punishable postings included incitement to hatred and propaganda offenses such as the use of swastikas or other Nazi symbolism. But there were also anti-Semitic statements related to the Middle East conflict, such as the slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”. The sentence (in German: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”) can be understood as a call for the destruction of Israel, the expulsion and extermination of the Jewish population. In addition, posts were tracked in which threats and insults were made against politicians, officials and elected officials. “The threats here also include specific execution scenarios.”
Number of registered cases more than doubled
According to the information, the number of cases of hate postings registered by the police increased massively last year. Overall, the number of cases more than doubled from 3,396 to 8,011. In the areas of politically motivated crime – foreign ideology and religious ideology there was even a fourfold increase, and in the case of right-wing ideology there was a threefold increase. One reason is also increasing clarification by the BKA's Central Reporting Office for Criminal Content on the Internet (ZMI) in cooperation with other partners.
In the fight against hate crime on the Internet, the BKA called on citizens to file a report if they come across such postings or are victims themselves. It is also possible to report such statements to social network providers, reporting offices or the state media authorities.
