German court backs AfD lawmaker's convictions for banned Nazi slogan

Germany's highest criminal court on Thursday confirmed a leading far-right politician's convictions for using a banned Nazi slogan.

The Federal Court of Justice backed the 2024 convictions of Björn Höcke, the leader of the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in the eastern state of Thuringia.

Höcke was fined by the Halle Regional Court for using the slogan "Alles für Deutschland" (Everything for Germany) at two events in 2021 and 2023.

The phrase is banned in Germany due to its previous use by the Nazis' SA paramilitary force.

Höcke had lodged an appeal against the convictions. His defence lawyers described the decisions as "incorrect in form and content, based on German, European and international law."

But the Federal Court of Justice, based in the south-western city of Karlsruhe, said its investigation did not reveal legal errors in the case.

Höcke's position as a member of parliament did not grant him immunity, as he used the slogans outside the exercise of his mandate, the court explained.

It said the lower-instance court had "convincingly proven that the SA had adopted the slogan in question as its own and that the accused knew this."

The convictions therefore constituted a permissible restriction of freedom of expression, the criminal court said in a final judgement.

The AfD is Germany's largest opposition party. Several of its state-level organizations, including Höcke's chapter in Thuringia, are under surveillance by domestic intelligence as "confirmed" extremist groups.