Bielefeld man given six-month jail term for “cheeky Jewish functionary” slur
The head of a far-right organization in the western town of Bielefeld was sentenced to half a year in prison on Thursday for calling someone a “cheeky Jewish functionary.”
The Bielefeld district court sentenced 30-year-old Sascha Krolzig on a charge of hate crime, the Neue Westfälische Zeitung reported on Friday.
Prosecutors said that he had fallen foul of the law by calling Matitjahu Kellig, the head of Jewish community in Detmold, a "frecher Judenfunktionär" (cheeky Jewish functionary) in an online post.
Due to the phrase’s associations with Nazi ideology it constituted a form of hate speech, with the central message being that Jews could not be a part of German society, prosecutors argued.
Krolzig admitted to writing the words but said that their use should be protected by the right to freedom of expression.
The judge sided with the prosecutors and also rejected the possibility of probation due to the fact that Krolzig is still on probation for a conviction from 2015.
Krolzig’s lawyer said that he planned to appeal the verdict.
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The Bielefeld district court sentenced 30-year-old Sascha Krolzig on a charge of hate crime, the Neue Westfälische Zeitung reported on Friday.
Prosecutors said that he had fallen foul of the law by calling Matitjahu Kellig, the head of Jewish community in Detmold, a "frecher Judenfunktionär" (cheeky Jewish functionary) in an online post.
Due to the phrase’s associations with Nazi ideology it constituted a form of hate speech, with the central message being that Jews could not be a part of German society, prosecutors argued.
Krolzig admitted to writing the words but said that their use should be protected by the right to freedom of expression.
The judge sided with the prosecutors and also rejected the possibility of probation due to the fact that Krolzig is still on probation for a conviction from 2015.
Krolzig’s lawyer said that he planned to appeal the verdict.
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