Extremism: Federal Supreme Court: “Compact” magazine may continue to appear

Legal success for the right -wing extremist magazine “Compact”: The magazine may continue to appear according to a judgment of the Federal Administrative Court. The judges in Leipzig raised a ban from the Federal Ministry of the Interior from the summer of 2024. Justification: There are unconstitutional activities, but they are not “formative”. Editor -in -chief Jürgen Elsässer celebrates his success and also sees the tailwind for the AfD.

How the court justifies its decision

The Basic Law even guarantees the “enemies of freedom” freedom of expression and press, said the presiding judge Ingo Kraft. There are numerous polemical and exhilarated statements. However, the border to anti -constitutional is not exceeded, according to the court.

A ban on the association is only justified with regard to proportionality if the unconstitutional activities for the association proved to be formative, according to the judges. In the overall assessment, the post -relevant statements and activities of the media company have not yet reached the threshold of the embossing.

The Federal Ministry of the Interior banned the magazine in June and carried out it on July 16, 2024. It described the sheet as the “central mouthpiece of the right -wing extremist scene”. This was associated with an immediate setting of the entire print and online offer from “Compact”.

However, the magazine could continue to appear after the federal judges temporarily suspended the ban in the urgent procedure. Now the responsible 6th Senate confirmed his decision at the time in the main proceedings. The Leipzig judges are in the first and last instance for lawsuits against club bans. The Federal Ministry of the Interior is not possible to go to the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe, as a spokesman for the Federal Administrative Court said.

Legally, the step is a ban on clubs. The Federal Administrative Court had no objection to the application of the association’s rights:

“Because the plaintiff, who fully enjoys the protection of the fundamental law freedoms, is not just a press and media company. Rather, the relevant personal communion pursues a political agenda after his own self-image, organizes events and campaigns and sees itself as part of a movement for which he works for a power perspective,” said the judge.

However, the association does not meet all the prerequisites for the closely interpretable basis for the “sewing against the constitutional order”.

How the “Compact” team reacts

“Compact” editor-in-chief Jürgen Elsässer rated the decision as a double success. “The AfD will also benefit from it,” he said. If it is impossible to forbid “Compact”, it is also impossible to ban the AfD. His magazine is “the storm gun of democracy”. “We are the strongest voice of the opposition. And you will hear more from us.”

On Wednesday, Elsässer wants to talk more about the negotiation at the invitation of the AfD in the Potsdam state parliament. According to his own statements, he checks whether he will comply with compensation for the consequences that have arisen from the ban and the associated seizures. According to initial estimates, it is about a sum in the “six -digit range”.

What role Sellner’s “Remigration Concept” plays

A particular importance was given the ratio of the “Compact” maker to the Austrian right-wing extremist Martin Sellner when evaluating the case. Richter emphasized “Compact” with the so -called remigration concept of Sellner. For years, his views “without any distancing” have been granted a broad space. The court assessed relativizing and trivializing statements by editor -in -chief Alsatian during the hearing as a “mere process -tactical, non -credible argument”.

The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution should also be interested in how the court evaluated the concept for so -called remigration. Because this concept also plays a role in its legal dispute with the AfD.

How journalist associations evaluate the decision

The German Journalist Association (DJV) sees the abolition of the “Compact” ban, a confirmation of the high level of vacancies of freedom of expression and press. This makes it clear that this fundamental right should not be undermined with procedural tricks, emphasized the DJV federal chairman Mika Beuster. However, the court decision should not hide the fact that “” compact “spreads right -wing extremists and misanthropic content in many articles that have nothing to do with the journalistic standards”. It is right and important to proceed. “The ban on an entire magazine still has to remain the last remedy.”

The managing director of reporters without borders (RSF), Anja Osterhaus, said: “In a democracy, the securitized fundamental rights must be taken into account – even if it is difficult to accept in the face of extremist and racist content of a medium.” RSF observes worldwide that such interventions of democracy could cause great damage.

According to the ministry, the “Compact” Magazin GmbH has long been the focus of the constitutional protection and was classified and observed as secured at the end of 2021 as secured.

The media company, founded in 2010, used to be based in the Brandenburg Falkensee, and now sits in Stessen in Saxony-Anhalt. According to the court, the edition of the “Compact” magazine is 40,000 copies, the online TV channel reaches up to 460,000 clicks.

Editor-in-chief Elsässer presented himself as the sole decision-maker in court. The “Compact” GmbH could not be referred to as an association, according to the 68-year-old. He stated that around 30 employees had worked around the clock in the publishing house. They were fully utilized with the creation and spread of editorial work. Instead of switching advertising, press festivals were organized and their own “role exaggerated as if we were part of a movement”.