German far-right leader again convicted for using Nazi slogan

The firebrand regional leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the German state of Thuringia, Björn Höcke, has been convicted and fined again for using a banned Nazi slogan.

Höcke, 52, was found guilty of using signs of unconstitutional and terrorist organizations for leading a crowd in a chant of the outlawed motto of the Nazi SA stromtroopers - "Alles für Deutschland" (Everything for Germany) - during a speech at a party event in December 2023.

Höcke said the first two words and then allegedly gestured to the crowd to complete the slogan. At the time, he was under criminal indictment for having used the same banned slogan during a separate speech at an election campaign event in May 2021.

Presiding judge Jan Stengel said that Höcke's culpability in the case was unquestionable and that he knew he was committing a criminal offence by uttering the slogan.

Stengel said the politician clearly wanted the crowd to complete the slogan and was intentionally testing the limits of what could be said.

Stengel rejected Höcke's claims of being a victim of a political prosecution. The judge noted that he has spent the past 30 years reviewing old convictions from courts in the now-defunct communist East Germany and is familiar with cases of genuine political persecution.

During closing arguments on Monday, Höcke claimed that his opponents were using the courts to "silence" him.

In May, Höcke was convicted in that earlier case and sentenced to a fine of €13,000 ($14,000). He is currently appealing the verdict.

The court in Halle on Tuesday sentenced Höcke to a fine totalling €16,900.

Prosecutor Benedikt Bernzen had asked the court for a suspended prison sentence of eight months and an order prohibiting Höcke from holding political office for two years, while Höcke's defence demanded an aquittal.

"The fine is sufficient," said Stengel in rejecting those requests.

The verdict is not yet legally binding. His lawyers said they would decide in the next few days whether to file an appeal.

Höcke is the lead candidate for the AfD in upcoming state parliamentary elections in Thuringia, where the party holds a clear lead in opinion polls.

He is also still facing another pending criminal case on a charge of incitement of the people over a post Höcke made to Telegram in 2022 after an act of violence in the city of Ludwigshafen.

In the post, Höcke suggested that there is a "widespread widespread disease among immigrants that makes the sufferers scream 'Allahu Akbar' and distorts their perception to such an extent that they see the 'infidel' hosts as life unworthy of life."

Trial dates in that case have not yet been set.