Germany’s top court opposes government on ‘far-right’ magazine prohibition
(MENAFN) Germany’s highest administrative court has ruled that the government’s ban on the right-leaning publication Compact was unlawful. The Federal Administrative Court issued its decision on Tuesday, stating that the interior ministry’s claim that the magazine was engaged in “anti-constitutional” activities and was “right-wing extremist” lacked sufficient evidence.
According to the court, the magazine’s “anti-immigration statements” could be viewed as “exaggerated but ultimately permissible criticism” of the government’s migration policies, and not grounds for a ban. The restriction, initially imposed in 2023, has thus been declared invalid.
Compact founder and editor-in-chief Jürgen Elsässer celebrated the ruling with a victorious post on X, accompanied by an AI-generated video of himself slaying a dragon, likening the magazine to a powerful weapon in a Tolkien-inspired fantasy narrative.
Germany’s Interior Minister Alexander Dorbrindt acknowledged the decision and confirmed that it is legally binding and cannot be appealed. Nonetheless, the ministry defended the concept of media bans in general, arguing they do not amount to censorship and could still be used in the future under certain legal conditions.
The court clarified that while press freedom is a core principle, it does not shield media entities if they are proven to be promoting “unconstitutional aims in a combative and aggressive manner.” Even non-criminal content can be used as part of the rationale for a ban if such activities are established.
Compact, founded in 2010 with a reported circulation of 40,000, was officially classified as extremist by the German government in 2021. The magazine’s ban was widely linked to its perceived alignment with the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, currently the country’s second most popular political force. Some observers, including Russian officials, also tied the timing of the ban to Compact’s interview with Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova shortly before the restriction was announced.
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