As of: February 12, 2024, 8:00 a.m
By: Tanja Brinkmann
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The Munich II public prosecutor's office has closed the investigation into sedition.
© Uwe Anspach/dpa
They spread a photo of a scantily clad African woman on the Internet - and accepted racist comments.
The police then investigated for sedition.
This fact was not met, which is why the public prosecutor's office has now dropped the whole thing.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen
– All inhibitions are gone on social media.
There is a lot of hustle and bustle, the wildest rumors are spread without checking the facts.
And also posted pictures without any consideration for personal rights.
Like the photo of an African woman bathing in the fountain at Garmisch-Partenkirchen train station last October.
The image spread like wildfire.
Racist comments included.
What fate lies behind it, how it came about that the woman ends up living on the street - that obviously doesn't matter.
In any case, after these unpleasant incidents, the police began an investigation into sedition.
“Photographs of a dark-skinned woman, probably only lightly dressed, washing herself in a fountain in Garmisch-Partenkirchen were shown on Facebook accounts,” confirmed senior public prosecutor Andrea Grape when asked by Tagblatt.
These posts were also commented on accordingly.
However, the Munich II public prosecutor's office was unable to find proof of incitement under Section 130 of the Criminal Code for legal reasons.
"Neither was there - as the facts of the case require - incitement to hatred against an identifiable group or calls for violent and arbitrary measures, nor was human dignity attacked, among other things, through insults or malicious contempt," said spokeswoman Grape, explaining this decision.
The mere expression of rejection and contempt, as was the case in this case, does not constitute the offense of sedition.
All inhibitions fall away on social media
The right of those affected to live as equal individuals in the state community was also not disputed.
“Blatant and violent insults are not sufficient in this respect,” explains the lawyer.
Of course, the public prosecutor's office did not fail to recognize that “this was shameless and inappropriate behavior.”
However, after there was no possible violation of the Art Copyright Act by publishing the image because it lacked the necessary recognizability, the investigation was discontinued.
Josef Ostler also received this news.
He was one of those targeted by police after he shared the photo on Facebook.
“It is not acceptable for someone to relieve themselves in public,” he emphasizes.
He was also annoyed by other actions by the homeless woman.
“If you get upset about it, you will be reported,” says the Garmisch-Partenkirchen resident.
He told the police his motives and then waited.
The result of the investigation that no crime was discovered does not surprise him.
What remains is a bad aftertaste.
In social media, all inhibitions continue to fall.
Nobody knows what tragic fate lies behind this story.
It is not known what the woman, who has been under care for a long time - probably due to psychological problems - experienced in her home country.
And also not how she and her children, who no longer live with her, arrived in Germany.