ADVERTISEMENTDavid Bendels, editor-in-chief of the Alternative for Germany (AfD)-affiliated Deutschland Kurier, has been sentenced to a seven-month suspended prison sentence for spreading a fake meme featuring German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser on social networks.
Bendels must also apologise in writing to Faeser.
Der Spiegel reported that the photo in question was posted by Deutschland-Kurier’s David Bendels on the outlet’s X account (formerly known as Twitter) at the end of February.
The manipulated photo showed Faeser holding a sign reading, «I hate freedom of speech,» and was widely shared and viewed.
The original image reportedly came from another official post by the Ministry of the Interior, published shortly before Holocaust Remembrance Day in January 2024. In the photo, Faeser holds a sign reading «We remember» in memory of the victims of Nazi Germany.
The court concluded that unbiased viewers might not have been able to recognise that the photo was manipulated.
The court of Bamberg confirmed to Euronews that Bendels filed an objection against the penalty, which automatically led to a trial. Originally, Bendels was ordered to pay a fine of 210 day rates, meaning he should pay a fine of his daily income times 210. In Germany, the number of day rates in a penalty reflects the severity of the offence.
Normally, the offense of defamation of a political figure carries a prison sentence of six months to five years.
This time, the judge imposed a relatively harsh sentence: a seven-month suspended prison sentence and a €1,500 fine to the Bamberg District Road Safety Association.
The court also stated that it considered Bendels «made a deliberately false factual statement» through the photo.
«The personal rights of the federal minister of the interior take precedence. The post was not deemed to be satire, as there were no indications supporting this (it was not published in a satire magazine, there was no prior public dispute with Ms Faeser, and the montage was not easily recognisable as such),» the court’s statement to Euronews concluded.
Faeser was reportedly alerted to the post by the police, and subsequently filed a criminal complaint.
Verdict ‘disproportionate’
The ruling caused a media uproar, while a number of politicians spoke out on X and called for the abolition or reform of the particular law that saw Bendels sentenced.
Green Party politician Ricarda Lang stated on the social media platform X that the ruling «no longer has anything to do with proportionality.»
Lang’s party colleague Erik Marquardt also agreed, distancing himself politically from Bendels, but noting that it doesn’t matter whether the meme was funny or tasteless.
ADVERTISEMENT«Lawmakers should ensure that such punishments are no longer possible in the future,» Marquardt said.
AfD deputy federal spokesperson Stephan Brandner slammed the sentence on X and in a statement on his website, saying the «court should be ashamed».
A criminal lawyer who teaches at Mainz University of Applied Sciences, Dr Jessica Hamed, contrasted satire with the criminal offense of defamation and called for the law to be reformed on insult, slander and libel. She also considers the ruling disproportionate.
The liberal party FDP also criticised the decision. Attorney and politician Wolfgang Kubicki described the Bamberg District Court’s ruling as a «truly disgraceful verdict».
ADVERTISEMENTChairwoman of the far-left BSW Sahra Wagenknecht also commented on X, saying, «the ruling says a lot about the state of freedom of expression in Germany.»
Wagenknecht called for the abolition of Section 188 of the Criminal Code, arguing that a liberal society «must tolerate satire».
Bendels has no criminal record and is expected to appeal. He insists the post was meant satirically. In light of the verdict, he announced that he would «fight it with all legal means at his disposal.»
