According to a “Focus” report, the author of the controversial “taz” column “All cops are disabled” is under massive threat. The editor-in-chief of the “Tageszeitung” confirmed on Sunday in Berlin that the judiciary and editorial team had contacted the Berlin police. According to “Focus”, help was asked for the troubled journalist. However, this was not done as described in the magazine article, on behalf of Hengameh Yaghoobifarah, emphasized the editor-in-chief of “taz”.
Federal Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer (CSU) meanwhile defended his approach against the author over the weekend. His goal was to “start a public debate about this unspeakable article in the ‘taz'”, he told the “Augsburger Allgemeine” (Saturday). He had achieved this goal. Seehofer had initially announced a criminal complaint against the columnist, but finally waived in the past week.
In her column, Yaghoobifarah had considered where police officers could work if the police were abolished. She concludes that there is only “one suitable option”, “the landfill”. The comparison of police officers with waste formulated at the end of the text caused outrage and also discussions within the “taz”
According to “Focus”, the Berlin police were asked for a consultation and security interview in connection with the column. The news magazine referred to information from Berlin police circles on Sunday. At the time, the editorial team had received numerous telephone calls and emails, some of which could be classified as a direct threat to the journalist’s physical well-being.
The “taz” contradicted the statement that the contact to the Berlin police was made on behalf of the columnist Yaghoobifarah. Rather, the initiative for this goes back to the lawyer and editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper. According to “Focus” information, officers from a neighboring police section will take care of the security of the editorial office. According to the magazine, the Berlin police did not want to comment on the case.
Seehofer stays with it: Article fulfills criminal offenses
Federal Interior Minister Seehofer emphasized in the “Augsburger Allgemeine”: “I have never read an article in my entire political life with such inhuman language towards police officers.” Freedom of expression and the press also had its limits in democracy. Nobody has the right to belittle other people, no matter which group they belong to, with inhuman language.
The minister emphasized that he remained convinced that the article he had criticized fulfilled the criteria for the offense. To investigate this is now in the hands of the investigative authorities.
The public prosecutor’s office in Berlin received numerous advertisements for the column. The German Press Council initiated proceedings against the text. epd
–
