Meissen. Anyone who has still not learned it can no longer be helped: Facebook is not a legal vacuum. Those who offend others there shouldn’t be surprised if they end up in court.
It was the same for a 51-year-old from Coswig. He had insulted an economics professor in a post on Facebook. The reason was that the professor had stated that the cost of the refugees should be borne primarily by the childless. The defendant then posted “in his brain, the bird”. So it is only a small consolation that the Coswiger was not the only one who reacted drastically to this suggestion. The professor submitted a total of 196 criminal charges.
Deleted the Facebook account
Yes, he wrote it that way, under his real and full name, says the defendant. He said that he “meant that” and did not want to insult the professor personally. “I was very upset because I am personally affected. I would have liked to have had children, but unfortunately it did not work out. As a childless single person I already pay the highest taxes and should be asked to pay again. That rocked up so much” he says.
Defense attorney Kristin Ines Reichel wants the proceedings to be terminated. After all, it was four years ago. The formulation that the defendant used is “colloquial” in the right-hand corner of the Elbe. In addition, her client was sentenced to a four-month suspended prison sentence almost simultaneously for a similar matter. As a result, he lost his well-paid job in Coswig and paid a high price. With a view to this conviction, the current proceedings should be discontinued, she puts in the room.
In addition, her client had drawn the consequences and did the only right thing by deleting his Facebook account.
Attacks no longer acceptable
But an attitude cannot be made with public prosecutor Christine Eißmann. It is a tough insult that cannot be glossed over, she says. “These attacks on the Internet are simply no longer acceptable,” said the prosecutor. The defendant’s long criminal record also speaks against an attitude. The man was convicted several times of insult, but also of coercion, sedition, bodily harm and tax evasion. In addition, the act now accused happened while on probation. She pleads for a fine of 3,250 euros.
Judge Michael Falk remains a little below the request and imposes a fine of 2,600 euros. It was understandable that the defendant was enraged because of the professor’s suggestion, but his statement was defamatory. A penalty must also be imposed for general preventive reasons, otherwise such insults would get out of hand on the Internet.
The accused’s current life path is respectable, but the old things have to be worked on, the judge said.
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