German High Court Rules

01 February 2006

On July 29, 2005, the German Constitutional Court ruled it libellous to label a public figure a "Gypsy Jew" in print, according to the German news source Deutsch Presse Agentur of August 1, 2005. In its decision, the court found that such usage evokes Nazi atrocities conducted against both groups. The Federal Constitutional Court ruled that the use of the term "Zigeunerjude" ("Gypsy Jew") by former right-wing Republic Party official Mr. Hermann Josef Reichertz in a printed leaflet to describe one of Germany's foremost Jewish officials, Mr Michael Friedman, was libellous and inflammatory. Terms categorized as Nazi slogans and catchwords are banned in Germany except for use in historical or theatrical purposes. Mr Reichertz produced hate pamphlets containing the term in November 2000 after Mr. Friedman urged Germans to stand up against neo-Nazism.

(Deutsch Presse Agentur)