Focus on court proceedings in Zweibrücken: Increase in the Minister of Health!

Focus on court proceedings in Zweibrücken: Increase in the Minister of Health!

Zweibrücken, Deutschland - A man is accused of insulting the Rhineland-Palatinate Minister of Health Clemens Hoch on Twitter (now X). According to an indictment, which was presented by prosecutor Claudia Feß before the district court in Zweibrücken, the insult included the term "stupid fascist". The court must now clarify whether the message actually comes from the accused. Feß emphasized that there is a special public interest in law enforcement, which indicates the importance of the case.

Expansion of the majesty insulting paragraph

The Higher Regional Court of Zweibrücken has now extended § 188 StGB, better known as the majesty insulting paragraph, to insults from politicians. In a new decision it was determined that in future only the content of the statement is relevant for punishment and not the reach of the contribution. This change could lead to even smaller social media accounts can be held responsible if they express sharp criticism of politicians.

An earlier case in which a man from Kaiserslautern posted a derogatory remark about Angela Merkel on Facebook already shows the effects of these legal provisions. The post, which contained an insulting statement and seven Kothaufen emojis, led to a conviction by the district court in Kaiserslautern. A later decision by the Kaiserslautern district court, however, opened the judgment, since the range of the post was considered too low and there was no criminal complaint from Merkel. With the new case law of the OLG Zweibrücken it is clarified that the content of the statement plays the decisive role, which means that even small and less far -reaching statements on social media can now be classified as a crime.

This development means that criticism of politicians could be assessed more strictly in the future, regardless of how many people see or read the relevant contributions.

Further information on the case can be found in the article by rheinpfalz.de can be read. You can find a comprehensive consideration of the changes in the legal text and the potential effects on freedom of expression at journalistenwatch.com .

-transmitted by West-Ost-Medien