Lawyers from Compact magazine actually wanted to speak about the ban in Falkensee, but then the event took a surprising turn. And the continuation of the current Compact issue was announced. A case for the BMI and public prosecutors?
Jürgen Elsässer waves it off. He says he has no legal concerns, and lights a cigarette. On Wednesday evening, the former editor-in-chief sits leaning back on a bench in front of the music hall in Falkensee. His right-wing extremist magazine Compact is based in the small town on the outskirts of Berlin. Was based. In mid-July, the Federal Ministry of the Interior banned the two companies behind Elsässer’s magazine. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) justified the move by saying, among other things, that the magazine was being used as a mouthpiece for anti-constitutional goals. Whether press freedom was sufficiently taken into account was the subject of discussion. As a result of the ban, searches and seizures were carried out in several federal states, and officers also moved in Falkensee. Elsässer says they should just come back.
Two activists have just announced in front of the town hall that the planned August issue of Compact magazine will be published despite the ban. Elsässer says he was not involved in the publication, but welcomes it. The issue will appear on the website and in a printed edition of “Democratic Resistance”. The announcement was made by the two founders of the newspaper, Anselm Lenz and Hendrik Sodenkamp, and the Bielefeld law professor Martin Schwab is also listed in the imprint. A weekly newspaper that the Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies as a “conspiracy-ideological publication” and is considered one of the key players in the Corona protest movement. The newspaper is trying to radicalize people with anti-constitutional content, according to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
The newspaper advertises the edition announced in Falkensee on its website with the following slogan: “Näncy – Forbiddenly good! Read here what you are not allowed to read.” This is “dangerous new territory”. Is this just a PR stunt or are there real consequences?
Does “Democratic Resistance” itself have to expect a ban?
The Association Act prohibits the formation of organizations that continue to pursue the unconstitutional efforts of a banned association in its place, i.e. that form a replacement organization for a banned association (Section 8 of the Association Act, VereinsG). Such an organization could in turn be banned. However, the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) would have to justify that it is actually a replacement organization. Here, there is the special situation that the newspaper and the online presence of “Democratic Resistance” have existed since 2020, with their own orientation. The fact that the publisher is now publishing Compact articles on a one-off basis is probably not enough. The regulation in the Association Act speaks of “continuing” and thus also requires a certain level of regularity. The only thing that would be different would be if the publisher behind “Democratic Resistance” were to take over the editorial staff of Compact.
However, the publisher could also have created grounds for an independent ban procedure (Section 3 of the Association Act), which would, however, be more stringent than the ban on a substitute organisation.
The BMI says that the process is being monitored. Legally, the main thing to check is whether the continuation is punishable. However, this is the responsibility of the public prosecutor’s office. The press office of the Potsdam public prosecutor’s office was no longer available on Thursday afternoon.
Section 20 paragraph 1 of the Association Act contains this penal provision. Anyone who – in non-legal terms – keeps the banned association alive as an organization and continues its activities will be punished with a prison sentence of up to one year or a fine.
Deadline for BMI expires in “Compact” expedited procedure
On Wednesday, the ban proceedings against Compact will also be discussed. The lawyers will also have their say. Attorney Gerhard Vierfuß, spokesman for the now more than ten-strong team of lawyers that Elsässer has put together, has news. Compact had already filed a lawsuit and an urgent application with the Federal Administrative Court (BVerwG) on July 25th. LTO reported. The main purpose of the lawsuit is to lift the ban on the association. In order to prevent the ban from being enforced in the meantime, an urgent application has been submitted in accordance with Section 80 Paragraph 5 of the Administrative Court Act (VwGO).
The aim is for Compact to be able to continue its work and appear again, said Vierfuß on Wednesday evening in Falkensee. The responsible Federal Administrative Court has given the BMI until Monday to comment, a total of ten days. Compact’s lawyers interpret this to mean that the Federal Administrative Court intends to make a quick decision in expedited proceedings. Perhaps even in August?
Time is running out. The magazine’s survival is at stake. With every day that the editorial team cannot work, it loses financially and journalistically, says Vierfuß. According to Berlin labor lawyer Tobias Gall, he has now also filed a complaint against three searches of Compact employees against the decisions of the responsible administrative courts in Hesse.
Back and forth in the Falkensee music hall
Several police vehicles had pulled up to the forecourt, the hall itself was filled to capacity, and the two AfD members of the Bundestag, Steffen Kotré and Götz Frömming, improvised a kind of press conference on the subject. They criticized the Compact ban. It was an attack on freedom of the press, freedom of expression in Germany was being “managed” and increasingly restricted, said Kotré. However, the topics were somewhat mixed up, the Federal Constitutional Court became the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and vice versa, the executive branch became the legislature. The audience was enthusiastic, “mainstream media” (boo), “Islam” (boo), “freedom of expression” (yes). Former editor-in-chief Elsässer was also sitting at the back of the audience, he had to wait for his appearance. In order to circumvent the conditions, the originally planned event with the Compact lawyers and the announcement of the publication of the August issue took place in front of the city hall. Registered as a spontaneous demonstration. A park bench served as the stage.
Citation suggestion
Meeting of lawyers, Alsatians and AfD: . In: Legal Tribune Online, 01.08.2024 , (accessed on: 02.08.2024 )
Copy information about the citation suggestion
