E
Edelweiss
Guest
Court says Nazi rock group is a criminal organization
Thu, 10 Mar 2005
BERLIN - Germany's highest court has ruled that a neo-Nazi rock group is a criminal organization and upheld a three-year prison sentence for the leader of the band Landser.
The decision is the first in the country to treat a band as an organization.
The Federal Court of Justice ruled that Landser is bent on spreading racial hatred. Its leader, Michael Regener, had been sentenced to jail by a Berlin court in December 2003. The court said the group incited racial hatred and spread Nazi propaganda.
German courts have previously prosecuted individuals under laws banning Nazi propaganda and the encouragement of racial hatred.
The court's chief justice, Klaus Tolksdorf, read some of the band
9;s texts. In reference to blacks, the band wrote: "They have a choice between a
noose around their necks or a bullet in their bellies." Tolksdorf also referred to songs that were demeaning towards Vietnamese people.
Two other group members had received suspended sentences of 21 and 22 months. They had accepted their convictions, but Regener appealed his.
Landser is an old German name for "soldier."
Also, a sensationalist article from Deutsche-Welle:
Germany Cracks Down on Neo-Nazi Music
[Landser is in the news again because Regener was appealing the sentence. It's crazy that a musician is serving a long 3-year sentence just for singing songs! How is a rock group a 'criminal organization'?]
Thu, 10 Mar 2005
BERLIN - Germany's highest court has ruled that a neo-Nazi rock group is a criminal organization and upheld a three-year prison sentence for the leader of the band Landser.
The decision is the first in the country to treat a band as an organization.
The Federal Court of Justice ruled that Landser is bent on spreading racial hatred. Its leader, Michael Regener, had been sentenced to jail by a Berlin court in December 2003. The court said the group incited racial hatred and spread Nazi propaganda.
German courts have previously prosecuted individuals under laws banning Nazi propaganda and the encouragement of racial hatred.
The court's chief justice, Klaus Tolksdorf, read some of the band
9;s texts. In reference to blacks, the band wrote: "They have a choice between a
noose around their necks or a bullet in their bellies." Tolksdorf also referred to songs that were demeaning towards Vietnamese people.
Two other group members had received suspended sentences of 21 and 22 months. They had accepted their convictions, but Regener appealed his.
Landser is an old German name for "soldier."
Also, a sensationalist article from Deutsche-Welle:
Germany Cracks Down on Neo-Nazi Music
[Landser is in the news again because Regener was appealing the sentence. It's crazy that a musician is serving a long 3-year sentence just for singing songs! How is a rock group a 'criminal organization'?]