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Thuringia's AfD state party and parliamentary group leader Björn Höcke
Photo: Martin Schutt/dpa
Another trial is pending for the Thuringian AfD state party and parliamentary group leader Björn Höcke. He now has to stand trial on charges of sedition. An indictment was admitted against the 51-year-old at the Mühlhausen regional court, as a court spokesman announced upon request. A date for the main hearing has not yet been set; the court is aiming for the first half of the year.
Specifically, it is about a post by Höcke on Telegram from 2022, which is about an act of violence in Ludwigshafen. Höcke wrote, among other things: "The perpetrator is probably mentally ill and suffers from the widespread disease among immigrants that makes those affected scream 'Allahu Akbar' and distorts their perception so that they see the 'infidel' hosts as unworthy lives."
New charges following allegations of using Nazi symbols
It is the second court hearing that Höcke will have to face. An indictment against Höcke for using the symbols of unconstitutional and terrorist organizations was admitted at the Halle regional court; a date for this trial has not yet been announced.
These proceedings concern a speech by Höcke in Merseburg 2021, where he is said to have used a banned slogan of the Sturmabteilung (SA), the paramilitary fighting organization of the NSDAP. Höcke, who used to be a history teacher, is said to have known that the last part of the saying was a forbidden slogan, according to the accusation. According to earlier information from the public prosecutor's office, Höcke had used his defense to deny the criminal relevance of his statement.
A new state parliament will be elected in Thuringia on September 1st, and Höcke is expected to enter the race as the AfD's top candidate. The Thuringian AfD has been classified and monitored by the state Office for the Protection of the Constitution as a right-wing extremist for almost three years.
col/dpa