Businessperson penned "Asshole". - An AfD politician faced insults and later secured acquittal.
In 2023, during spring, a member of the Bundestag, Stephan Brandner (57) from the AfD, uploaded a post about COVID-19 vaccine boosters. These boosters were the main topic in the post. There was a cartoon accompanying the post, which depicted the Health Minister, Karl Lauterbach (61) from SPD, as a skull. Brandner inquired about the potential need for the next boost, focusing specifically on "the vaccinationists & corona hysterics."
A user named Patrick W. (from Starnberg) commented on Brandner's post under a pseudonym, writing the word "asshole." Half a year later, Patrick received a letter from the local court, stating, "You (...) insulted the injured party with the word 'asshole' to express your contempt." Patrick W. was ordered to pay a fine of 3,000 euros.
Appeal Leads to Acquittal After 15 Minutes
He protested and the case went to court last week. The trial finished in only 15 minutes, resulting in an acquittal because of a technicality. The accusation was filed only through an email; according to the law, such a complaint is inadmissible.
Patrick W. commented, "I'm thrilled with the outcome. I made the remark. However, I couldn't know for sure that Mr. Brandner felt offended by it."
His defense lawyer, Alexander Betz, observed, "It's astonishing that a proficient attorney could make such a blunder. However, even if the criminal accusation had been submitted correctly, I believe there would've been an acquittal. 'Asshole' in the comment could've just as easily been directed towards Mr. Lauterbach, not Mr. Brandner."
Additionally, he mentioned, "Anyone who can hurl insults like Mr. Brandner should be prepared to take it as well."
Hefty Fine for a Former Judge
Meanwhile, a different case ended with a heavy penalty. A former judge, Werner Heinrich (79), was fined 7,800 euros (60 daily rates) by the Reutlingen district court for sharing abusive lyrics relating to Economics Minister, Robert Habeck (54) on Facebook. In these lyrics, Habeck was characterized as an "idiot" and likened to "dog excrement." The lyrics also suggested that he should "fuck off."
The court delivered the harsh sentence to the avid critic of Habeck.
(This is a paraphrase of the given text)
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Source: symclub.org
