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Police Inspectorate Kusel
Photo: Sebastian Gollnow / dpa
On Monday, police officers in 15 federal states searched the homes of 75 suspects accused of making hate speech on the Internet.
A total of 150 suspects are being investigated in 172 cases of criminally relevant statements, said Rhineland-Palatinate Interior Minister Roger Lewentz (SPD) on Monday in Mainz.
"When words are used like weapons, consistent government action is required," added Lewentz.
During the searches, 180 data carriers such as smartphones, notebooks and other digital devices were secured, as the Vice President of the Rhineland-Palatinate State Criminal Police Office (LKA), Achim Füssel, announced.
The investigations are being conducted by the "Hatespeech" investigation group at the LKA Rheinland-Pfalz, which was set up after the killing of two police officers on January 31 in the West Palatinate district of Kusel.
According to Lewentz, the reason for this was statements on the Internet "in which the murder was celebrated and the victims made contemptible."
"Hate and hate speech have no place in our society," said Lewentz.
»We react with all clarity - in the real world and in the virtual.«
In the first three weeks after the crime, the Hatespeech investigative group led by the Koblenz public prosecutor found more than 1,600 references to hatred and hate speech in connection with the crime on the Internet.
According to the State Criminal Police Office, 509 of these cases were criminally relevant.
The trial against the alleged perpetrator Andreas S., who is accused of murder, begins on Tuesday before the Kaiserslautern district court. The 39-year-old man is said to have killed the 24-year-old police officer and her 29-year-old colleague during a night-time traffic check on a country road near Kusel with several gunshots have to cover up poaching.
The crime triggered nationwide horror, but according to the authorities, it also led to hate comments online welcoming the crime.
hpp/dpa