Illegal: court condemned the police for addressing students

Illegal: court condemned the police for addressing students

Ribnitz-Damgarten, Deutschland - The debate about right-wing extremism in Germany receives new ignition material through a current case in Ribnitz-Damgarten. This is 16-year-old Loretta B., who made the headlines on her TIKTOK account in spring 2024 due to presumably right-wing extremists. An anonymous tip transformer from North Rhine-Westphalia had informed the school about the content in question, which led to the fact that the police ordered a threat to approach at Loretta and got it out of class. However, this was now assessed by the Greifswald administrative court as illegal and disproportionate. According to the court, the conversation could have taken place in less stigmatizing frames, for example at home or at the police station. This is reported by the Uckermark Kurier, who has followed the development of the case in detail.

The Loretta's lawsuit against the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and the Ministry of the Interior shows how serious the situation is. While the police classified the information obtained as not relevant under criminal law, she still had a conversation with the student. The attempt to take action against right -wing extremists was criticized by the court as inappropriate. Finally, the judge pointed out that milder procedures would have been possible in terms of proportionality. At this point the question arises: How far can protection against extremist tendencies go?

Statement of politics

political reactions were not long in coming. Enrico Schult, a member of the AfD state parliament, was a observer in the court and expressed his support for the family. He demanded an apology from the responsible ministers, which caused additional discussions in the political circles. Incidentally, it is interesting to see in this mixed situation that the left-wing politician Michael Noetzel recognizes the state government's efforts against right-wing extremist activities, but respects the judgment of the court.

A deeper look at the problem takes the Federal Center for Political Education. According to their information, an alarming increase in right -wing extremist violence and an increase in such crimes in Germany can be observed. In 2020, for example, over 23,000 right -wing extremist motivated crimes were registered, including violent attacks. The cases of radicalization on the Internet are particularly worrying, such as those of Tobias R. and Stephan B., which serve as examples of the accumulating situation. The Federal Minister of the Interior recently described right -wing extremism as the greatest threat to security in Germany.

What remains to be done?

The case of Loretta B. is both a symptomatic example of the existing social tensions and a wake -up call to deal with right -wing extremist tendencies. The limit between prevention and disproportionate reaction is often thin, and school authorities in particular face the challenge of reasonably responding to such incidents. It remains to be seen how the other legal disputes that Loretta's family has strained will be.

The topic affects all of us, especially at a time when right -wing extremist ideologies experience again. It remains to be hoped that such preventive measures are more oriented towards the principle of proportionality in order to preserve both the rights of individuals and to meet the protection of the general public.