A district court in Germany has handed down a first-instance, seven months prison sentence to journalist David Bendels, because he in February 2024 published a satirical meme on X – as a form of criticism of Interior Minister Nancy Faeser.
The meme featured an image – a photo montage – of Faeser “holding” a sign reading, “I hate freedom of expression.”
Bendels, who is editor-in-chief of Deutschland-Kurier, then found himself in the dock accused of “defamation against political figures.”
According to the German press, this is the first time a journalist has been found guilty on this type of charge “in the Federal Republic of Germany” – that is, since the end of the Second World War.
However, speech of any kind is only defamatory if it is demonstrably false. And criminal prosecution of journalists who “mock” politicians is taken by many observers as proof that freedom of expression, as the basis of any democracy, is indeed under threat in Germany.
Bendels’ sentence has been suspended for two years, considering that the journalist had no prior criminal record. But the ruling of the Bamberg, Bavaria court also issued an order for Bendels to apologize to Faeser, in writing.
The journalist announced that neither he nor his publication accept the ruling. His legal representatives would appeal against it, it has been revealed.
Meanwhile, many observers – opposition politicians, but also the country’s top constitutional and media lawyers – worry the case is politically motivated.
Bendels and his media outlet are considered right-wing; however, his ordeal has been criticized not only by the similarly ideologically branded AfD party, but also by former Federal Minister Rupert Scholz, from the CDU – a well-known constitutional lawyer, and, media lawyer Joachim Steinhofel, who both said the meme was “unproblematic.”
Faeser’s lawsuit was based on Germany’s Criminal Code Paragraph 188. The law the Code refers to was enacted during Chancellor Angela Merkel’s time in office, ever since giving rise to concerns that it may get misused to suppress free expression, including humor and satire.
Faeser’s key argument, accepted by the Bavaria court, is that somebody viewing the meme posted by Bendels might have believed it was an actual photo of the politician (in plain view) carrying her “I hate freedom of expression” placard.
