Latest news with #RainerWendt
Time of India
08-08-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Germany's top court limits use of police spy software
Berlin: Germany 's highest court found in a ruling published Thursday that police and other security services could use telecommunications spy software only to investigate very serious crimes. Investigators have long used secretly installed surveillance software on phones and computers to monitor suspects' encrypted messaging services and other communications. The Constitutional Court has now found that this is allowed only in cases where a conviction would lead to jail sentences of more than three years. The judges said such surveillance represents a serious privacy intrusion and must therefore be limited to particularly serious crimes. However, current rules will continue until the law is changed, the ruling said. The court pointed to the "extraordinary reach" of telecoms surveillance in an age where all kinds of individual actions and interpersonal communications can be tracked digitally. The data privacy group Digitalcourage had launched the case, supported by journalists and lawyers. The group had urged more sweeping restrictions but nonetheless welcomed the ruling and vowed that "anyone who attacks our freedom must expect resistance". The German Journalists' Association voiced disappointment, saying the court had "clearly prioritised criminal prosecution over informant protection". "This makes it more difficult for us journalists to protect our sources," it said. The German police union welcomed the decision to allow the continued use of the software in major cases. "In times of terrorist threats, investigative authorities need effective tools for threat prevention and prosecution," said its chairman Rainer Wendt. "With its ruling, the Federal Constitutional Court ensures that the rule of law can protect the population from the dangers of terrorism while simultaneously safeguarding their fundamental rights."
Daily Mail
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Woke sexual harassment poster that shows a white woman groping a disabled black person sparks outcry
A German council has come under fire for a sexual harassment poster that shows a white woman groping a disabled black person. The sign was put up in an outdoor swimming pool in the western town of Büren with the caption: 'Stop! Grabbing is forbidden.' At the bottom of the poster, a turtle wearing goggles and rubber armbands tells the reader: 'If something doesn't feel right, you have the right to call for help by calling out my name: Tiki!' Several signs were put up to spread awareness about sexual assault as part of the 'Summer Sun Safety' campaign. The campaign comes after a group of Syrian men were arrested for groping girls at a swimming pool in the nearby region of Hessen. One of the posters, depicting a white woman groping a black boy with a prosthetic leg, sparked outrage - with critics saying it must be a 'bad joke'. They said it was an attempt to make a politically correct statement about sexual harassment by making the perpetrator a white woman and giving the victim a physical disability. Official German statistics show that men are responsible for the overwhelming majority of sexual assaults in outdoor swimming pools. The debate has now caught international attention. Right-wing conservative US activist Charlie Kirk, a supporter and close confidant of President Donald Trump, wrote on X: 'Germany has a problem with Third World migrant men groping German women' In 2024, 237 out of 367 recorded incidents were also committed by foreigners. Rainer Wendt, the head of the German police union, warned the poster would likely embolden the far-Right Alternative for Germany [AfD] party, which is a vocal campaigner against 'woke' values. 'This campaign has only one winner, the AfD. But there are many losers: women and girls. Their dire situation is being ridiculed,' he told the German tabloid Bild. Manfred Pentz, the European affairs minister for the state of Hessen, said: 'After the incidents we've recently experienced here, this must be a bad joke, which makes a mockery of those who have been affected. 'If it doesn't fit into their world view, it isn't allowed. Simply unbelievable.' The city of Büren apologised for any offence caused by the poster and said it had not meant to upset victims of sexual harassment, or to play down the issue. 'The city takes seriously the public criticism of design elements of the campaign, Summer Sun Security.' a spokesman said. 'The occasion is an opportunity for reflection by the city administration. We are re-evaluating our communication methods and they will be more sensitive, and different, in the future.' The debate has now caught international attention. Right-wing conservative US activist Charlie Kirk, a supporter and close confidant of President Donald Trump, wrote on X: 'Germany has a problem with Third World migrant men groping German women. 'So the German government has put up a PSA warning about white women groping vulnerable immigrant men who also have prosthetic legs for some reason.'
Telegraph
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
White woman gropes black disabled boy in ‘woke' harassment campaign
A German council has been criticised for a sexual harassment poster that depicts a white woman groping a black boy with a prosthetic leg. The poster was put up in an outdoor swimming pool in the western town of Büren with the caption: 'Stop! Grabbing is forbidden.' At the foot of the poster, a turtle wearing goggles and rubber armbands informs the reader: 'If something doesn't feel right, you have the right to call for help by calling out my name: Tiki!' The campaign comes after a furore in Germany over a recent incident where a group of Syrian men were arrested for groping girls at a swimming pool in the nearby region of Hessen. But critics said the poster was a baffling attempt to make a politically correct statement about sexual harassment, by making the perpetrator a white woman and giving the victim a physical disability. Official German statistics show that men are responsible for the overwhelming majority of sexual assaults in outdoor swimming pools. In 2024, 237 out of 367 recorded incidents were also committed by foreigners. Rainer Wendt, the head of the German police union, warned the poster would likely embolden the far-Right Alternative for Germany [AfD] party, which is a vocal campaigner against 'woke' values. 'This campaign has only one winner, the AfD. But there are many losers: women and girls. Their dire situation is being ridiculed,' he told the German tabloid Bild. Manfred Pentz, the European affairs minister for the state of Hessen, said: 'After the incidents we've recently experienced here, this must be a bad joke, which makes a mockery of those who have been affected. If it doesn't fit into their world view, it isn't allowed. Simply unbelievable.' The city of Büren apologised for any offence caused by the poster and said it had not intended to upset victims of sexual harassment, or to trivialise the issue. 'The city takes seriously the public criticism of design elements of the campaign, Summer Sun Security.' a spokesman said. 'The occasion is an opportunity for reflection by the city administration. We are re-evaluating our communication methods and they will be more sensitive, and different, in the future.' The row has caught the attention of the American Right, with Charlie Kirk, the Donald Trump ally and activist, posting on social media: 'Germany has a problem with Third World migrant men groping German women. 'So the German government has put up a PSA warning about white women groping vulnerable immigrant men who also have prosthetic legs for some reason.' The Trump Administration has repeatedly clashed with Berlin over what it considers to be the erosion of democracy in Germany, where the AfD is now the second largest in parliament, but treated as a pariah by the government.
