German Politician Fined €18,000 For Racist Remarks Against Afghans

A court in Germany has fined Detlef Gürth, a former member of parliament in the state of Saxony-Anhalt and a member of the Christian Democratic Party, 18,000 euros for insulting Afghans.

The sentence was issued after Gürth wrote derogatory words against Afghans on the social network X.

In late June this year, an Afghan citizen stabbed to death a compatriot in Berlin and then attacked spectators in eastern Germany during the opening match of Euro 2024, injuring three people. The attacker was shot dead by the police.

After the attack, which drew widespread reactions, Gürth called for the expulsion of Afghans in harsh and abusive language on the social media platform X.

The court in the city of Halle (Saale) ruled that the politician must pay a fine of 200 euros per day for the next 90 days. However, Gürth says he has appealed against the court's ruling.

According to German media reports, after the stabbing incident by an Afghan asylum seeker during a soccer match, Gürth wrote on his X page: "This soil must be cleared of Afghans."

He also defended the police shooting at Afghans, stating that "this filth should be cleaned up from Germany." Many condemned Gürth’s reaction, calling the use of the word "dirty" an insult to all Afghans and that the term was a form of hate speech and contradicted the principles of the German constitution, which protects human dignity and equal rights.

Incitement to hatred usually carries a penalty of three months in prison, but in certain cases, a German court can convert the sentence to a fine.