Public incitement to crime

The Public incitement to criminal acts in Germany in accordance with § 111 of the Criminal Code (Criminal Code) punishable.

text

The wording of § 111 StGB reads:

(1) Anyone who publicly calls for an unlawful act , in a meeting or by disseminating documents ( Section 11 (3) StGB), will be punished like an instigator ( Section 26 StGB).

(2) If the request is unsuccessful, the penalty is imprisonment for up to five years or a fine. The penalty may not be more severe than that threatened if the request is successful (paragraph 1); Section 49, Paragraph 1, No. 2 of the Criminal Code applies.

Offense

A request within the meaning of Section 111 (1) of the Criminal Code requires a - at least implicit - manifestation that reveals the will of the perpetrator to demand a certain criminal act or omission from the person who has been asked. According to the case law of the Federal Court of Justice , mere expressions of political displeasure or provocations are just as insufficient as simply advocating criminal offenses or expressing opinions in this regard, even if they trigger plans for a criminal offense in some of the persons in question. Rather, what is required is a deliberate final impact on others with the aim of making them decide to commit certain criminal acts.

It is not enough that affirmative statements or even calculated sentiment create a psychological climate in which crime can thrive; What is also required is the intrinsic element of a request of open and targeted influence on the will of third parties.

Examples

After the child murder in Emden in 2012 , the police arrested a 17-year-old as a suspect. She released him three days later after he was found innocent. An 18-year-old had previously called on Facebook to storm the police station in order to "punish" the suspect at his own discretion. A little later, up to 50 people had gathered in front of the guard to demand the surrender of the temporarily arrested person and to threaten him with vigilante justice, including torture and death. There were no attacks. The confessing caller was sentenced to two weeks of youth arrest and a warning for inciting a criminal offense, and a 19-year-old who was involved in the call to vigilante justice was also sentenced to two weeks of youth arrest for calling for a criminal offense.

Web links

Section 111 of the Criminal Code on websites, chats and forums ( Memento from September 26, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
BGH judgment of April 7, 1998 on § 111 StGB
BGH judgment of October 25, 2001 on § 111 StGB

Individual evidence

↑ KG Berlin, NStZ-RR 2002, 10
↑ BGHSt 28, 312, 314; 31, 16, 22; 32, 311
↑ BGHSt 28, 312, 314; 32, 310, 313
↑ Bosch in the Munich Commentary on the Criminal Code , Section 111, No. 8 with further references.
↑ Emder charged with calling for lynch justice , Süddeutsche, May 15, 2012
↑ 18-year-olds have to be arrested for two weeks , Spiegel Online, May 30, 2012
↑ 19-year-old convicted of calling for vigilante justice , Spiegel Online, June 11, 2013

[1] KG Berlin, NStZ-RR 2002, 10

[2] BGHSt 28, 312, 314; 31, 16, 22; 32, 311

[3] BGHSt 28, 312, 314; 32, 310, 313

[4] Bosch in the Munich Commentary on the Criminal Code , Section 111, No. 8 with further references.

[5] Emder charged with calling for lynch justice , Süddeutsche, May 15, 2012

[6] 18-year-olds have to be arrested for two weeks , Spiegel Online, May 30, 2012

[7] 19-year-old convicted of calling for vigilante justice , Spiegel Online, June 11, 2013