The trial against AfD right winger Björn Höcke has begun in Halle. The accusation is that he knowingly used an SA slogan. His defense lawyers fail with a number of applications.
Halle - In the trial against Thuringia's AfD leader Björn Höcke, the public prosecutor's office accused him of knowing about the origin of the SA slogan "Everything for Germany". He knew that it was a forbidden slogan of the Sturmabteilung (SA) of the Nazi party NSDAP, according to the indictment read out on Thursday before the Halle regional court. After the reading by public prosecutor Benedikt Bernzen, the first day of the trial ended.
This is the first court case against Höcke. The accusation: using license plates of unconstitutional and terrorist organizations. The penalty ranges from a fine to three years in prison. The presumption of innocence applies until a possible conviction.
In addition to numerous media representatives, several hundred Höcke opponents also came to the first day of the hearing. They demonstrated peacefully in front of the justice building in the morning.
Before the trial, Höcke claimed in a television program that he did not know that the slogan was an SA slogan. “It’s a common saying,” he had said.
The 52-year-old is said to have used the SA slogan in a speech in the state election campaign in Saxony-Anhalt in 2021. The then co-chairman of the Saxony-Anhalt Green Party, Sebastian Striegel, had reported Höcke and referred to a report from the Bundestag's Scientific Service, according to which using the slogan in a speech at a meeting is punishable.
Höcke's defense made several motions on the first day of the trial - including a complaint against a decision that audio recordings should not be permitted. In the opinion of the defense, this appeal should be decided before the main hearing properly begins. The court rejected this.
Höcke's defense attorney Ulrich Vosgerau also questioned the fact that the Halle regional court is responsible for the case and not the Merseburg district court. There had already been a legal dispute on this question beforehand. The public prosecutor's office referred to an unappealable decision by the Naumburg Higher Regional Court on this question. The responsible chamber followed this.
Höcke is said to have used the SA slogan again - at an appearance in Gera last December. At this point, his appearance in Merseburg and the legal consequences had long been a topic in the media. In Gera, as a speaker, Höcke is said to have said the first part “Everything for” himself and used gestures to encourage the audience to shout “Germany”. Initially, the indictment for this case was linked to the indictment for the speech in Merseburg. Before the first day of the trial began, the two cases were separated again, as a court spokeswoman explained. The reason for this is that Höcke's defenders changed at short notice.
On the first day of the trial, Höcke's defense suggested that the proceedings be suspended and that the Federal Constitutional Court review a certain regulation in the Court Constitution Act. Höcke's defense attorney Vosgerau said the legal norm was unconstitutional. But the court decided otherwise. It was said that there was no evidence of an unconstitutional regulation.
At the end of November, after a legal back and forth, the Higher Regional Court in Naumburg decided that the main proceedings against Höcke would be conducted by the regional court - and not by the district court. dpa