Germany is considering scrapping a special law that prohibits insulting politicians following a series of high-profile cases in which private citizens found themselves under investigation by the police for publicly calling politicians “Schwachkopf” (idiot), “Lügenfritz” (lying Fritz) or “Pinocchio” on social media.
Section 188 of Germany’s Criminal Code states that anyone found guilty of defamation “against a person involved in the popular political life” can theoretically be imprisoned for up to three years if the offense makes the politician’s public activities “substantially more difficult.” In practice, however, most prosecutions have ended with fines.
The law was toughened in 2021, partly in response
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