BERLIN GERMANY — The German government announced new legislation Wednesday that will make it easier to deport foreigners who publicly approve of terrorist acts. Under the law, a single comment on social media could provide grounds for expelling a person.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised the measure, approved by the cabinet, after the knife attack against members of a group that describes itself as opposed to “political Islam,” an attack that led to the death of a police officer. This came as Scholz’s government faces widespread pressure to curb migration.
The Interior Ministry said the residency law would be amended so that the approval or promotion of “a single terrorist crime” would be a basis for “a particularly serious interest in expulsion.” This means that in the future, a single comment that “glorifies and condones a terrorist crime on social media” could be grounds for expulsion.
Anyone who publicly condones a crime “in a manner that causes a disturbance of the public peace” could also be expelled without requiring a conviction. Liking a post on social media would not be sufficient grounds for deportation, said Nancy Faeser, Minister of the Interior.
Faeser noted that Hamas’ actions in the October 7 attack on Israel have been “celebrated in a disgusting manner” on German social media, and that the attack in Mannheim “was also glorified by many people on the social media network.” the most atrocious way.”
“Such online desensitization fuels a climate of violence that can lead extremists to commit new acts of violence,” Faeser added. “So it is very clear to me that Islamist agitators, who mentally live in the Stone Age, have no place in our country. “Anyone who does not have a German passport and glorifies terrorist acts here should be expelled and deported wherever possible.”
He said he was confident lawmakers would approve the change soon, and he did not believe it conflicted with free speech laws.
Source: AP
