AfD-Supporting Lawyer Fined €3,000 For Criticizing German Govt, Has Gun License Revoked, Faces Disbarment
The debate over free speech in Germany has taken a new turn following the case of Markus Roscher, a 61-year-old lawyer from Braunschweig, who was fined €3,000 for criticizing the government's heating law.
Roscher described Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock as 'malicious failures' in a post on X back in 2021. He was subsequently issued a penalty notice under the controversial Paragraph 188 of the German Criminal Code, which criminalized defamation against individuals engaged in public political life.
Roscher, who has been active on X for over 14 years and is well accustomed to the legal boundaries surrounding political debate, insists that his post was within the bounds of political criticism.
'I actually know myself to be quite well within the red lines,' he told Bild.
'You have to formulate things pointedly to be heard. The lines of freedom of opinion have slipped with the red-green government (ed. the coalition of Social Democrats and Greens).'
He further described his hefty fine as a 'scandal for freedom of expression.'
Paragraph 188, introduced in April 2021, criminalizes insults against politicians if they significantly hinder their public work. It was initially passed under a coalition government of the CDU and SPD but has been increasingly enforced under the current administration. The law has led to numerous prosecutions against individuals who have criticized government officials online.
In Roscher's case, the penalty order claimed that his statements portrayed politicians as 'corrupt, stupid, and arrogant,' constituting 'abusive criticism' that allegedly impeded their political activity.
Will memes be targeted in Germany next?"Misinformation" expert hints that restrictions are coming."There is no right to be heard on social media…This is the problem of the next few years, especially when it comes to ambiguous or cryptic communication, such as memes." pic.twitter.com/OY6kUzUsPK — Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) January 16, 2025
Following the charge, authorities also moved to revoke his gun license, citing 'unreliability.'
Furthermore, his case was forwarded to the Kassel and Braunschweig Bar Associations, raising concerns that he could face professional sanctions.
'If I now claim the same or something similar and get another conviction exceeding 90 daily rates, I can lose my license,' Roscher warned.
'Then you get a job ban as a 61-year-old lawyer!'
Roscher believes that his support for the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) has played a pivotal role in his prosecution. He asserts that the penalty order was politically motivated, arguing that he stood little chance in a legal battle, which led him to pay the fine without challenging it in the courts.
The scrutiny of political affiliations within Germany's public sector was also highlighted by a leaked memo last month revealing that federal police officers who join or actively support the AfD could face disciplinary action, including dismissal. The memo cited a decree by Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, explicitly stating that officers suspected of affiliation with the party could see their employment terminated.
The controversy has drawn international attention from U.S. billionaire Elon Musk and most recently from U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who labeled Germany's online speech laws this week as 'Orwellian.' Responding to a CBS '60 Minutes' interview with German prosecutors, Vance argued that Germany was effectively 'criminalizing speech' and urged Europeans to 'reject this lunacy.'
Roscher's case is part of a broader pattern of speech-related prosecutions in Germany.
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