Pegizei

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Graffito in the trendy district of Dresden Neustadt

On August 16, 2018, there was an incident in Dresden between the police and a reporter team from Frontal21 of the ZDF broadcaster . The journalists were checked by the police for at least 45 minutes after two Pegida demonstrators had wrongly filed a criminal complaint against a cameraman of the station for violating personal rights and insulting them . On August 21, 2018, the ZDF political magazine Frontal21 reported on the incidents in the background of the Chancellor's visit to Dresden on August 16.

The incident became known under the hashtag #Pegizei , a trunk word from Pegida and the police . As a result, this case met with broad, partly international, media coverage and sparked a debate on freedom of the press in Germany , as well as a discussion about the Saxony police and a political controversy surrounding Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer .

Course of events

On August 16, 2018, a team of journalists with the investigative journalist Arndt Ginzel and the cameraman Gerald Gerber filmed demonstrators on the way between two protests on the occasion of a visit by Chancellor Angela Merkel to the Saxon state parliament in Dresden for the show Frontal21 . A demonstrator with a conspicuous fishing hat in the colors black, red and gold , who had just chanted “ Liar press !” With a finger pointing to the cameraman, also came into the picture in the crowd . The protester went straight to the camera and challenged the cameraman with the words “You filmed me in the face! You are not allowed to do that! You are committing a criminal offense! ”To refrain from frontal recordings of him. When the cameraman continued the recording with the words "Go ahead!", The demonstrator asked the cameraman to go with him to the police officers who were in sight. The police officers then checked the cameraman's and the journalist's ID cards and press cards. According to current media law, journalists are allowed to film the participants in public demonstrations, even the close-up face shot that the demonstrator himself caused by approaching the camera was not illegal; Accordingly, the criminologist and lawyer Christian Pfeiffer described the demonstrator's aggressive behavior with false legal statements for the purpose of obstructing the camera recordings as “nonsense” and “close to coercion ”. According to Frontal21, the video material shows that criminal charges only took place after the journalists had been identified. This raises the question of whether the procedure was lawful at all. According to several politicians and experts, Saxon police officers do not receive adequate training in media law and dealing with the media, so they may have acted in ignorance of the legal basis. A man who is presumed to be René Seyfried from the Dresden suburb of Freital joined the test ; the Sächsische Zeitung later compared the film recordings from Frontal21 with film material from its own archive. René Seyfried was one of the organizers of the xenophobic protests in Freital . He claimed to have been insulted by the cameraman and filed a complaint. The IDs were then thoroughly checked again and the filming was hindered for a total of around 45 minutes. The footage from Frontal21, however, shows that the person who insulted Seyfried was a different passerby and not the cameraman. Seyfried said a day later that he was wrong and withdrew the complaint.

As later informed the Saxon State Ministry of the Interior , the demonstrator with the black-red-gold fishing hat was LKA employee Maik G., who had privately participated in the demonstration. Maik G. had professional access to internal police databases, his networking with the right-wing scene and consequences under service law - civil servants are sworn in to the liberal-democratic basic order with freedom of the press - are to be examined. According to a dpa report from August 30, LKA employee Maik G. was released from the police force on September 3, 2018.

Legal evaluation

Gernot Lehr , specialist lawyer for media law, is of the opinion that the repeated request to present personal and press cards should be viewed as a disproportionate hindrance to the free press, since the documents were presented the first time. In addition, he is of the opinion that filming the Pegida demonstrator is justified because his aggressive behavior - he left the group and approached the camera head-on - made himself a person of contemporary history. The demonstrator only went public in order to hinder the documentation of the demonstration.

As far as the claim of the LKA employee regarding the right to his own picture is concerned, he is of course entitled to this according to § 22 Art Copyright Act ; only this is expressly restricted again by the following § 23 - according to paragraph 1 no. 3 it does not apply to "pictures of meetings, elevators and similar processes in which the persons depicted took part".

Maik G's lawyer, the AfD politician Maximilian Krah , filed a lawsuit with the Dresden Regional Court in June 2019 . According to Krah, who is aiming for compensation of “not less than 20,000 euros”, it is a violation of media rights and personal privacy.

Reactions

On August 23, 2018, Angela Merkel announced that such recordings are permitted and that a demonstrator “must expect to be recorded”.

Many media representatives see the police interference as an attack on the freedom of the press , a human right. The Association of Journalists sided with the reporters. Michael Kretschmer (CDU), Prime Minister of the Free State of Saxony , announced on August 18 that only the police had appeared “serious”. For that he was criticized. According to ZDF, the president of the Dresden police asked Frontal 21 to apologize on August 24th. The parliamentary group leader of the Saxon CDU in the state parliament, Frank Kupfer , attacked the journalists who were prevented from filming with the words "Public law ... we pay contributions for this" even more clearly. The Saxon CDU member of the state parliament, Sebastian Fischer, described the affair as a "little summer farce ... Unfortunately, renewed confirmation of the roar 'lying press', chance to build trust again missed". The chairman of the Saxon CDU regional group in the Bundestag, Marco Wanderwitz , clearly contradicted this : “It is not a confirmation of constitutional and democratic enemies who roar 'lying press'. And it's not a little farce either. Article 5 is so far ahead in our Basic Law for a reason ”. Because of the incident, the made-up word “Pegizei” - also as a hashtag - was created in the social networks , a suitcase word from “Pegida” and (Saxon) police . The Prime Minister of Saxony considers this to be "irresponsible". As a nod to the headgear by Maik G. came in social media, in reference to the Wutbürger also the slogan " Hutbürger " link. Numerous photomontages and caricatures are circulating, in which the LKA man's eye-catching hat and other accessories are alluded to and in some cases a general connection between the state police and Pegida is established. The term then established itself and is used in many media , for example in the context of Maik G's claim for compensation against ZDF, which became known on June 14, 2019, with the help of his lawyer, the Saxon AfD vice-president Maximilian Krah .

The political scientist Hans Vorländer said of the event:

“[At Pegida] there are conscious strategies to intimidate media representatives, so much is at stake, and I think the Saxons, including the authorities and the ministries or the prime minister, are always well advised to always take the side of To beat democracy and the rule of law and freedom of the press. "

- Hans Vorländer : Deutschlandfunk , 23 August 2018

The SPD politician Albrecht Pallas wanted to hear the ZDF reporters, who were prevented from working, in a special meeting of the interior committee of his state parliament so that the members could get an idea for themselves. The trained police officer stated that the process was not a coincidence. Rather, he recognizes in it “a system” that

"It is a new strategy of the right to bind journalists and police officers through targeted advertisements at meetings and thereby to complicate what is happening."

- Albrecht Pallas : Free Press , August 24, 2018

Jan Böhmermann addressed the incident at the end of August 2018 in his program Neo Magazin Royale in the song There are no Nazis in Saxony .

In 2019, with reference to the “protracted police control”, the winners of the Prize for the Freedom and Future of the Media were , among others, two journalists affected by the incident. The reason stated: "It is thanks to the work of Arndt Ginzel and Gerald Gerber that the discussion on questions of press freedom, the protection of journalists and how to deal with violent critics of journalistic work in Germany is intensified."

In August 2019, Der Spiegel used the fishing hat in black, red and gold on its front page as a symbol. The title was: “So isser, der Ossi .” Subline : “Cliché and reality: How the East ticks - and why it chooses differently.”

literature

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  1. ↑ n-tv news: What the "Pegizei" scandal is about . In: n-tv.de . ( n-tv.de [accessed October 4, 2018]).
  2. ↑ Kate Connolly: German police in row over far right after officer blocked TV crew at Pegida rally. In: The Guardian . August 23, 2018, accessed on January 31, 2019.
    Dresden protest: German police in Pegida far-right row. In: BBC . August 23, 2018, accessed on January 31, 2019.
    Thomson Reuters: German conservatives criticized over response to right-wing radicalism in Saxony. In: CBC / Radio-Canada . August 23, 2018, updated August 24, 2018, retrieved January 31, 2019.
    Frank Jordans, Associated Press: Protester who harassed German reporters works for police. In: Business Insider . 23 August 2018, accessed on 7 October 2018.
    Row widens after German police blocked TV crew at PEGIDA rally. In: Al Jazeera . 23 August 2018, accessed on 31 January 2019.
    Le Figaro.fr with AFP: L'extrême droite allemande et la police au center d'une controverse. In: Le Figaro . August 23, 2018, accessed on January 31, 2019.
    Johanna Luyssen: Pegida, la police saxonne et la liberté de la presse . In: Liberation . August 25, 2018, accessed on January 31, 2019.
    Merkel defiende libertad de prensa tras polémica intimidación en Dresden . In: La Vanguardia . August 23, 2018, accessed January 31, 2019.
  3. ↑ In the wording. Press conference with Chancellor Merkel during the meeting of the CDU parliamentary group in the Saxon state parliament in Dresden. Transcript of the press conference. Thursday, August 16, 2018. In: bundeskanzlerin.de , accessed on January 31, 2019.
  4. ↑ Maria Gramsch: Minute log of the events at Frontal 21, from min. 27:27. In: turi2.de , August 22, 2018, accessed on January 31, 2019.
  5. ^ Anti-Merkel demonstration in Dresden: Police arrested ZDF journalists - this is how they justify themselves . In: HuffPost Germany . August 17, 2018 ( huffingtonpost.de [accessed August 22, 2018]).
  6. ↑ Sasan Abdi-Herrle, Angelika Finkenwirth: Were the journalists allowed to do that? In: Zeit Online , 23 August 2018, accessed on 31 January 2019.
  7. ↑ a b Christian Pfeiffer, criminologist, with an assessment. In: tagesschau.de , August 23, 2018, accessed on January 31, 2019.
  8. ↑ Dresden police apologize to the ZDF television team. Section: Editor in Chief: Police have misrepresented events. In: mdr Saxony. August 24, 2018, accessed on October 7, 2018 ("Last updated: August 24, 2018, 8:37 pm").
  9. ↑ Dealing with journalists. The great uncertainty of the officials. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. August 24, 2018, accessed January 31, 2019.
  10. ↑ (SZ / two / uwo / or / mja / dpa): LKA employees on the wrong track . In: Sächsische Zeitung Online . August 23, 2018 ( sz-online.de [accessed October 6, 2018] Pegida-Pöbler is an LKA employee).
  11. ^ A b Pegida demo in Dresden: Police justify use against journalists . In: Der Spiegel Online . August 20, 2018 ( spiegel.de [accessed August 22, 2018]).
  12. ↑ Chronology of a police check. Overload in Dresden (verbatim protocol). In: taz.de from August 24, 2018, accessed on August 26, 2018.
  13. ↑ Thomas Datt: Protester apologizes. Apparently no connection to the LKA man. In: zdf.de , August 24, 2018, accessed on January 28, 2019.
  14. ↑ Antonie Rietzschel: mob Santander demonstrator LKA employees . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . August 22, 2018 ( sueddeutsche.de [accessed October 7, 2018]).
  15. ↑ Denise Peikert, Sandro Poggendorf: LKA employee has access to sensitive investigation data. In: mdr , 23 August 2018, accessed on 7 October 2018.
  16. ↑ dpa / faz.de: After action against ZDF: «Hatbürger» leaves the police. (No longer available online.) In: faz.net. August 30, 2018, formerly in the original ; Accessed October 7, 2018 (originally accessed September 2, 2018; no mementos).  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.faz.net .
  17. ^ After the scandal at the anti-Merkel demo: ZDF woman directs clear words to the police . In: HuffPost Germany . August 21, 2018 ( huffingtonpost.de [accessed August 22, 2018]).
  18. ↑ a b AfD vice represents Maik G .: “Hutbürger” wants compensation from ZDF. In: n-tv NEWS. June 14, 2019, accessed June 26, 2019 .
  19. ↑ Incident at Pegida demo: Merkel defends ZDF film team. In: zdf.de , 23 August 2018, accessed on 26 January 2019.
  20. ↑ tagesschau.de: "Pegida" demo: ZDF wants to clarify the police operation. In: tagesschau.de. Retrieved August 22, 2018 .
  21. ↑ WELT: “Frontal21”: ZDF shows complete recordings of the Pegida demonstration . In: The world . August 21, 2018 ( welt.de [accessed August 22, 2018]).
  22. ↑ Dresden police apologize to the ZDF television team. In: MDR Sachsen , August 24, 2018, accessed on January 31, 2019.
  23. ↑ HuffPost / jg: That's what we pay for! (No longer available online.) In: Sächsische Zeitung. August 22, 2018, archived from the original on August 26, 2018 ; accessed on January 26, 2019 .
  24. ^ Pegida scandal in Saxony: CDU politician complains about the "lying press". A member of the Bundestag for the CDU reprimanded the member of the state parliament from Saxony. In: Huffington Post . August 25, 2018, accessed January 26, 2019.
  25. ↑ Matthias Meisner , Jost Müller-Neuhof, Frank Jansen : Is #Pegizei in action in Saxony? In: Der Tagesspiegel . August 23, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2018 .
  26. ↑ A hat makes a career: How the media and social web work off the “hat citizens” of Saxony. Meedia , August 24, 2018, accessed August 26, 2018 .
  27. ↑ Pegida "Hutbürger" demands compensation from ZDF - with AfD lawyer , Berliner Morgenpost June 14, 2019
  28. ↑ At least 20,000 euros "Hutbürger" wants compensation from ZDF , picture Dresden June 14, 2019
  29. ↑ "They filmed me in the face" "Hatbürger" wants compensation Der Tagesspiegel June 14, 2019
  30. ↑ Political scientist on Pegida: "A ritual of the angry old men". Hans Vorländer in conversation with Irene Geuer. In: deutschlandfunk.de , August 23, 2018, accessed on January 31, 2019 (section: Climate "brutalized and promoted hatred" ).
  31. ↑ (dpa / sn): SPD politician wants to hear journalists in the interior committee. In: Free Press. August 24, 2018, accessed October 7, 2018.
  32. ↑ There are no Nazis in Saxony - Jan Böhmermann & Maik from the LKA. In: YouTube , August 30, 2018, accessed January 31, 2019.
  33. ↑ Hanna Zobel: Jan Böhmermann declares once and for all that there are (no) Nazis in Saxony. bento , August 31, 2018, accessed January 31, 2019.
  34. ↑ PM from June 25, 2019: Prize for "independent journalism with an open visor". In: Media Foundation of Sparkasse Leipzig . August 24, 2018, accessed June 25, 2019 .
  35. ↑ Stefan Kuzmany : So isser, der SPIEGEL , August 26, 2019