{"id":29670,"date":"2024-04-18T16:21:06","date_gmt":"2024-04-18T16:21:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/18\/german-regional-leader-of-far-right-party-in-court-over-allegations-of-knowingly-shouting-nazi-slogan\/"},"modified":"2024-04-18T16:21:06","modified_gmt":"2024-04-18T16:21:06","slug":"german-regional-leader-of-far-right-party-in-court-over-allegations-of-knowingly-shouting-nazi-slogan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/18\/german-regional-leader-of-far-right-party-in-court-over-allegations-of-knowingly-shouting-nazi-slogan\/","title":{"rendered":"German regional leader of far-right party in court over allegations of ‘knowingly’ shouting Nazi slogan"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A regional leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is being tried in court over allegations he knowingly used a Nazi slogan at the end of a speech.<\/p>\n

Former history teacher Bjorn Hocke, 52, is the leader of the AfD in the eastern state of Thuringia, and a powerful figure on the party’s hard right.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, the opening day of the trial that threatens to derail his career, Hocke sat in the state court in Halle, tight-lipped and inscrutable.<\/p>\n

He is accused of ending a speech in nearby Merseburg in May 2021 with the words “Everything for Germany<\/a><\/strong>!”<\/p>\n

Prosecutors allege Hocke, who has been leading the party in Thuringia since 2013, knew the phrase used to be a slogan of the Nazi SA storm troopers.<\/p>\n

A conviction could disqualify him from taking part in regional elections held in his home state in September, where his party is currently leading in the polls.<\/p>\n

“If the defendant is sentenced for six months or more, he loses his right to actively or passively take part in the election during that period,” court spokeswoman, Dr Adina Kessler-Jensch, told reporters cramming into the courtroom.<\/p>\n

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\n A conviction could disqualify Hocke from taking part in regional elections. Pic: AP
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“A conviction could carry a fine or a prison sentence of up to three years,” she added.<\/p>\n

As Germany’s legal system doesn’t involve entering formal pleas, Hocke remained silent throughout the trial, speaking only when asked his date of birth and place of residence.<\/p>\n

Amid a heavy police presence, around 570 protesters had gathered outside the court building, holding a large banner reading: “Bjorn Hocke is a Nazi” and chanting: “All of Halle hates the AfD”.<\/p>\n

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A few Hocke supporters showed up too.<\/p>\n

“What is happening here is a disgrace. Freedom of expression is no longer possible, it is like during Communist times,” Thomas, an AfD voter who declined to give his full name, said.<\/p>\n

“There can be no other verdict than not guilty.”<\/p>\n

Inside the courtroom, Hocke’s lawyer Philip Muller alleged that judges and those assisting in the trial will struggle to make a verdict free from bias, arguing that the politician is “often put in one category with the Nazis,” in the media.<\/p>\n

While on social media, Hocke portrayed himself as a victim of political persecution.<\/p>\n

“Once again, Germany is at the forefront of oppressing political opponents and suppressing free speech,” he posted on X on 6 April.<\/p>\n

Read more on Sky News:
Bone of what may be largest known marine reptile discovered<\/a>`
Brexit has made UK medicine shortages worse, research suggests<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Hocke faces another count of using the same phrase at a party in Gera last December “in certain knowledge of the punishability” of the slogan, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n

They say that Hocke said “Everything for …” and encouraged the audience to shout “Germany!”<\/p>\n

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It has been decided that that count will be tried separately because Hocke’s defence lawyers recently changed, German news agency DPA reported.<\/p>\n

Hocke insisted in a debate with a conservative rival last week that he wasn’t aware “Everything for Germany!” was a Nazi slogan and claimed that many others have used it.<\/p>\n

“Everyone out there knows it’s an everyday saying,” he said on Welt television.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


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A regional leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is being tried in court over allegations he knowingly used a Nazi slogan at the end of a speech. Former history teacher Bjorn Hocke, 52, is the leader of the AfD in the eastern state of Thuringia, and a powerful figure on the party’s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29671,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/24\/04\/768x432\/skynews-afd-bjorn-hocke_6525609.jpg?20240418165258","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[9283,1625,724,10563,33976,1891,11331,1697,7919,33977,5466],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29670"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29670"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29670\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29672,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29670\/revisions\/29672"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}