The Bamberg Regional Court has acquitted the editor-in-chief of the Deutschland-Kurier. David Bendels had previously been sentenced by the Bamberg District Court to seven months’ probation for sharing a satirical meme depicting then-interior minister Nancy Faeser (SPD).
The image showed Faeser holding a sign that read, “I hate freedom of expression”. The image was based on a real photograph taken during a Holocaust Remembrance Day event, in which Faeser was originally holding a sign reading “We Remember.” The district court ruled that the altered image constituted defamation of a public official under Section 188 of the German Criminal Code.
The district court considered the altered image an untrue statement of fact, claiming that its satirical nature would not have been recognized by an average viewer and that it could undermine trust in the minister’s integrity.
During the appeal, the Bamberg Regional Court overturned the conviction, ruling that the photomontage fell under the category of protected freedom of expression—when viewed in its overall context. Like the presiding judge, the public prosecutor called for acquittal and the annulment of the lower court’s ruling.
Bendels described the ruling as an “important fundamental judgment” and said he would continue to defend press freedom and freedom of expression in Germany. His lawyers, including constitutional law scholar Ulrich Vosgerau, have stressed that the case serves as a “litmus test for freedom of expression in Germany.”
