Aargau SVP local politician sentenced for racism
The court sentenced the 40-year-old man to a conditional fine. The criminal complaint was filed by an SP national councillor.
Stumbled across posts: Naveen Hofstetter has been found guilty by the Zofingen district court.
Photo: Sigi Tischler (Keystone/Archive)
A local SVP politician from Aargau was found guilty of racial discrimination by the Zofingen district court. The court sentenced the man to a conditional fine. He had written posts related to the vote on “Marriage for All”.
Naveen Hofstetter, president of the local SVP party in Rothrist, received a fine of 70 daily rates of 220 francs on Monday, limited to two years. He was convicted of violating the anti-racism penal norm, Article 261bis of the Criminal Code. The judgment of the single judge is not yet final.
The court largely followed the prosecution. This demanded a fine of 90 daily rates and a fine of 4,000 francs. The defense pleaded for acquittal.
In the run-up to the federal referendum on the “Marriage for All” bill in September 2021, the 40-year-old Hofstetter wrote in a post on Facebook that “African refugees (mostly men)” were just waiting to be allowed to adopt little girls to keep them to be able to sexually exploit. A day later he deleted the entry.
The reasoning of the court
The law is a step towards further demands for child adoptions from “unnatural partnerships,” Hofstetter wrote in another post. And the reality is that it is often the youngest girls who are sexually harassed by men of African descent.
The court justified the guilty verdict by saying that the term “African male refugees” was a collective term for different ethnic groups. These are essentially accused of pedophilia. According to the court, writing about “unnatural partnerships” in connection with homosexual partnerships is a disparagement of sexual orientation.
“Opinion on voting”
The author of the posts spoke before the district court of a “somewhat unfortunate choice of words”. He had expressed his political opinion in connection with the forthcoming vote, he said: “I never wanted to stir up hatred.”
He did not simply speak out against refugees, but against an extension of the right of adoption. There were violent reactions to the posts – also because of his dark skin color, the Indian-born local politician stated.
The defender justified the application for acquittal with reference to freedom of expression. His client wanted to protect the “conservative family image” from foreign cultures. He also wanted to point out general dangers.
SP National Councilor filed a criminal complaint
The Aargau SP national councilor Gabriela Suter had filed a criminal complaint against Hofstetter. She spoke of “inhuman statements”. The Baden AG public prosecutor responsible for the investigation filed charges.
–The Aargau SP national councilor Gabriela Suter.
Photo: Alessandro delle Valle (Keystone / Archiv)
Hofstetter is a member of the management of SVP Aargau. Two years ago he ran for the SVP in the Zofingen district without success for the cantonal parliament. His opinion on “marriage for everyone” was rejected within the cantonal party, which had clearly voted no to the proposal.
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