Hate onlineEurope's top court upholds Germany’s law banning displaying Nazi swastika
The European Court of Human Rights ruled yesterday that German courts acted properly in convicting a German man for posting a picture of Nazi war criminal and SS leader Heinrich Himmler in SS uniform bearing a swastika. The court argued that German authorities had not undermined freedom of expression given the country’s history. Under German law, displaying Nazi symbols is illegal, and these symbols can be shown exclusively for educational purposes.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Thursday rejected a complaint filed by Hans Burkhard Nix, a 54-year old German, after he was convicted for posting a picture of Nazi war criminal and SS leader Heinrich Himmler in SS uniform bearing a swastika.
The Strasbourg court “found that the domestic authorities had provided relevant and sufficient reasons for interfering with Nix’s right to freedom of expression and had not gone beyond their room for maneuver in the case,” said the court’s ruling.
The Court said that German authorities had not undermined freedom of expression given the country’s history.
The court said Nix must have known about German legislation which criminalized the use of Nazi symbols since he had been convicted before for publishing an image of German Chancellor Angela Merkel wearing a swastika armband and bearing a Hitler-like moustache.
The court noted, however, that Nix had “not intended to spread Nazi ideology and might have thought he was contributing to a debate of public interest.”
DW reports that In 2015, a Munich court convicted Nix of using “symbols of unconstitutional organizations,” arguing that he had not sufficiently distanced himself from Nazi ideology and used the picture as an “eye-catching device.” He received a 5-month suspended sentence.
Nix appealed to higher courts, saying his blog post was meant to criticize discrimination against children with migrant backgrounds in German schools and employment offices. However, his appeal efforts were rejected.
He took his case to the ECHR after Germany’s Constitutional Court refused to examine his case further, invoking Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the right to freedom of expression.
In Germany, Nazi symbols are considered illegal under legislation that outlaws “symbols of unconstitutional organizations.” DW notes that there is no exhaustive list of criminalized symbols, and the law does not name any. Under the law, such symbols may be shown exclusively for educational purposes.
