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According to a press release of the Member of the
German Parliament (Bundestag), Ulla Jelpke, the German Federal
Government had reported on a parliamentary request, that 298 criminal
investigation procedures which are related to right-wing hate speech
have been opened by German prosecution authorities throughout the year
2000. This means, that about each fourth of those criminal proceedings
have commenced on initiative of the attorneys who cooperate with haGalil
onLine and the supporting charity.
According to own records, the attorneys who cooperate
with haGalil onLine and the supporting charity have filed almost 100
notices on criminal right-wing extremist hate speech on the internet. A
large part of these notices derive from reports which were submitted by
readers of the largest Jewish online Service in Europe, haGalil onLine,
whereas the remainder was based on own investigation.
It is noteworthy that some few of the notices filed in
the year 2000 were registered only in the year 2001 by the prosecution
authorities, whereas, on the other hand, notices submitted in the year
1999 got registered only in 2000. Furthermore, the criteria used for the
categorization of offences in the Federal Statistics are unknown - while
anti-Semitic incitement, which forms the criminal charge in most of the
notices, should always meet the criteria of "right-wing extremist
propaganda."
Convictions
According to the press release issued by Mrs. Jelpke,
the Federal Government reported that there were no convictions on the
charge of right-wing extremist propaganda on the internet in the year
2000. This statement does not bear too much meaning, since it is only
related to investigations which were also opened in the year 2000. And,
with a view to the fact that currently the analysis of a seized hard
disk may take 14 months (and more) in some German federal states, the
fact that none of those investigations have been closed in the same
year, does not appear too surprising.
Convictions based on the notices files by the attorneys
who cooperate with haGalil onLine over the past years must have been
numerous. But the German Code of Criminal Procedure does not provide for
a conviction to be notified to the reporting person who himself is not a
victim of the offence. However, fortunately some prosecutors,
nevertheless, permissibly notify the reporting person on own accord,
while most of the save themselves such extra work. Thus, in may cases
haGalil onLine learns about such convictions only from the press or
public statements of the convict. Nevertheless, haGalil onLine know
about quite a number of such convivtions - many of which are based on
own notices filed in 1999.
About some completed procedures
In one case, a man who used the alias "Fubbes" while
ragging in the message boards of haGalil onLine, which were designed for
completely open access still at that time, became finally convicted.
During the investigations, his home was searched, and in the course of
such search it was determined that a swastika flag, which might have had
some inspiring effect on his activities on the internet, was attached to
the wall above the PC of the convict. According to statements of the
convict, police had also found right-wing extremist literature in his
flat.
A student from the southwest German city of Freiburg,
which called himself a "historian" in the same haGalil message boards,
had denied the Shoah. He was sentenced to six months imprisonment on
probation.
The former National Democratic Party (NPD) functionary
Axel Möller who dwells in the north-eastern city of Stralsund and whose
person is also mentioned in various public reports of the German inland
intelligence authorities, received a summary conviction order, according
to which he should have paid a fine for incitement to hatred. His appeal
was very unsuccessful, as the fine was increased by the court in its
sentence.
Also worth mentioning is the case of a well established
vine dresser from the Austrian south-eastern Burgenland province, who
posted in the message boards of haGalil onLine using the alias
"Werwolf". In the year 2000, he was sentenced by the Regional Criminal
Court of Vienna to a conditional prison term of 18 months on the charge
of a violation of the Austrian law banning the continuation of national
socialist activities.
Investigations on Hate Speech hosted on US-American
Servers can also lead to convictions
A large number of convictions on the basis of the
activities of haGalil onLine is expected for the year 2001, too - and,
now, also with respect to pages which are hosted on US-American servers
- it is not true that such hate speech generally cannot, for practical
reasons, be prosecuted in Germany.
Nazi Propaganda - often hidden under a "common citizen"
wrapping
Subject matters to the notices filed in the year 2000
were right-wing extremist pages, message boards, submissions to message
boards or other files bearing hate-speech content. The range of the
notified web pages lasts from sites which are thoroughly designed in
Nazi propaganda style and attempted arrangements for the procurement of
weapons for right-wing extremist terrorist purposes (the offenders could
be identified) down to private home pages, on which, behind a "common
citizen" facade, and side by side with a lot of unsuspicious stuff, also
Nazi material has been offered. In the latter mentioned cases, the
semantics used in the announcements of and the links to such material,
often discloses that the author of the web page is affected to such
attitudes, and did not, out of "unsophistication", publish something on
the internet which he deemed to be inoffensive. This also forms
important circumstantial evidence against an often used argument of
defending lawyers.
Grouses and Secret Societies
The files which were relevant for criminal law and
became the subject matter of the notices related, inter alia, to mirrors
of the notorious Nazi hack version of the popular freeware "Moorhuhn"
(grouse) game, in which the designs of the grouses, which have to be
shot in the game, were replaced by figures with "Jewish attributes"
(which should mean side-curls and scull-caps), or text archives which
the so-called "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" may be retrieved from.
Some other notices concerned on-line publications of the hate-speech
book "Secret Societies and their Power in the 20th
Century", which was published under the pseudonym "Jan van Helsing" and
had been seized in the Federal Republic of Germany long time ago,
because it resembles anti-Semitic theories on conspiracy, which are
ruminated in a new form.
The Goal: Investigation, and not early Warning, of the
Perpetrator
HaGalil onLine, the supporting charity and the
cooperating attorneys never approach the providers of right-wing
extremist pages, except if criminal prosecution will prove to be
unsuccessful from the start. The perpetrator and his social environment
would get alarmed by a sudden removal of the content by the provider,
evidence which is possibly available could often be finally destroyed by
a simple click on a button.
HaGalil onLine regards the identification of the
offender as more important than the danger that right-wing extremist web
pages could remain available on the web for some more time. The
identification of the author of right-wing extremist pages bears the
advantage towards the use of the providers' complaint report forms, that
the offender will be known to police and internal intelligence as
right-wing extremist. The offender will be deterred from publishing the
content again by just using the services next available "free webspace
provider" after the original provider has removed it. And, once
convicted, there will be a criminal record, which might, inter alia,
have the following effects:
- Business licensing authorities will treat applications of the
offenders with more scrutiny, for example when he applies for the
license of an inn,
- The competent authorities will refrain to grant licenses required
under the weapons, explosives, or hunting laws, or withdraw existing
licenses,
- In connection with the commencement or continuation of employment in
the public service, the conviction may serve as an indicator for the
lack of loyalty to the constitutional order,
- In cases where the offender is member of a society, a "comradeship",
or similar, the security authorities, which enjoy the competence to ban
such entities according to the relevant laws, have evidence concerning
the conduct of the members of such entities to their disposal.
- Public employers, or the authorities supervising some professions
(e.g. bar or physicians' associations) learn about the suspected
right-wing extremist activities of one of their employees or members,
- In case of a juvenile, the respective youth welfare office are given
notice, which might, then, decide to have a look at the family situation
and the parents' conduct,
- In case of a pupil, the headmaster will be notified, who will, then,
learn about right-wing extremist activity of a member of that school,
- The prosecution and police authorities, as well as the inland
intelligence, also maintain a register with investigations, which were
closed without an accusation having been brought in. If the offender
should attract the attention of the prosecution again, it is less likely
that the prosecution would assume "negligibility" once more.
In cases of massive abuse of certain internet media
services, regulatory measures can also be invoked against certain
providers according to the German Interstate Media Treaty, which has
been signed by the German states and contains uniform regulatory
provisions. Such measures would, then, be directed against the relevant
provider.
Investigations take Time
In most of the cases, the submission of a report by use
of the Report Form will not lead that the relevant pages will
immediately vanish from the internet. First of all, the attorneys
dealing with the reports, who are investing a lot of time into the
assessment of the reported cases - free of charge! - will have to draft
the notice to the prosecution authorities, which may, in many cases, be
very much work due to the technical and legal complexity of the subject
matter involved. Once the relevant prosecution authority has received
the prosecution authorities, a first assessment of the case will be
conducted, which is, then, followed by a standard registration
procedure. After that, extensive investigation and collection of
evidence is sometimes needed, before the removal of the relevant
internet content can be requested, or the suspect can be confronted with
the case. After all, the aim of the prosecution authorities is to
collect evidence which can also convince an independent court.
Protection of the Reporting User forms an Important
Objective
The Report Form provides for the submission of personal
details of the reporting user. The reporting user should be given the
opportunity to receive a feedback, in order to enable him to show that
his activity against right-wing extremism may also lead to results. For
example, as soon as the notice of receipt issued by the prosecution
authority is available, the file number of the procedure will be
submitted to the reporting user. If, and as soon as, a notice on the
results of the investigation is given, the content of such notice will
also be forwarded to the reporting user. Nevertheless, he does not have
to be afraid of having to receive "unpleasant visitors" by the
"customers": The notices to the prosecution authorities are always
submitted by the attorneys on their own behalf, not on behalf of the
reporting user. It can, therefore, never be taken from the documentation
in the investigation files which person initially had provided the
respective information. Furthermore, such information is privileged, and
the attorneys may and will refuse disclosure of their sources of
information. By the way, such information requests had yet never been
made, and are also not expected to be made.
No unnecessary Work for the Investigation Authorities
Different to the procedure maintained by some other
reporting schemes, the reports submitted via the Report Form of haGalil
onLine will not forwarded to authorities without prior examination, but
the legal relevance and technical possibility to identify a suspect will
be assessed prior to further action on the basis of thorough technical
knowledge and long-term experience with the internet. After that,
investigations on the person of the suspect will be conducted, of course
only on the basis of publicly available resources.
In many cases, a suspect can be identified to the
authorities on the basis if such own investigation. Only as soon as the
own investigative means are used up, the attorneys dealing with the case
will procure the prosecution authorities with the results, together with
detailed explanations of the factual and legal implications, which
should also enable a prosecutor who has less experience with the matters
concerning the internet to conduct his investigations in an effective
manner.
Investigation on own Accord
As soon as the attorneys who cooperate with haGalil
onLine and the supporting charity learn, through their investigations,
about relevant groups of perpetrators or publications which can be found
at several places on the internet, they continue to investigate on own
accord. They vest the relevant authorities with such results, as far as
they can be used.
Expert Advice to Investigators
On request, the attorneys of haGalil share their
technical know-how with the responsible staff of the investigation
authorities. For example, upon a request made by authorities, general
advice is granted - free of charge -, which enables the sharing of
experience which could be gained by haGalil onLine on the identification
of subjects, with such authorities.
An attorney who cooperates with haGalil onLine and the
supporting charity had compiled in written form the technical and legal
know-how gained in course of the activities. The paper which was
produced that way, and which will only be made available to inland
intelligence, prosecution and police authorities, found great interest
there.
At some points, the cooperation has its limits. If it
appears that investigation authorities act only slowly, or even not, at
all, the supervisory instances are approached, to enable them to work
towards the conduct of speedy and effective performance.
Final Remarks
It should never be forgotten that right-extremist hate
speech and attacks on the dignity of man are not trifles. Through the
ideology which they aim to spread, such offenders cause a direct threat
to democracy and togetherness in our society, as they deliberately
poison the social climate. The social checks and balances which are
required to overcome such dangers cannot only be arranged by the state,
but have to be established within the whole of the society.
haGalil onLine
22-03-2001
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