A far-right German politician has been sentenced to 10 months in jail on charges of inciting racism over insults he hurled at Turks and Jews during an event in February.The Saarbrücken 11th Court of First Instance yesterday handed down a 10-month sentence to the National Democratic Party’s (NPD) group leader in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Udo Pastörs, and issued a 6,000-euro fine for his derogatory remarks targeting Germany’s Turkish and Jewish communities. Pastörs’ jail sentence will be suspended indefinitely.
The prosecutor had asked for up to four years’ imprisonment for Pastörs, whose appeal required court judges to listen to his speech from February once again. The politician in his speech said Germany should do everything it can do to stop immigration to the country, using disparaging remarks to describe Jews and Turks. The court also found the politician’s remarks had a quality that incited violence. The court also noted that Pastörs did not appear to be remorseful or aware of the seriousness of his remarks. The prosecutor said a one-and-a-half-year sentence and a 10,000-euro fine would have been more suitable in this case. He also said jail sentences in such cases should not be commuted.
In a statement after the verdict, Pastörs said the book recently published by former Deutsche Bundesbank board member Thilo Sarrazin greatly “overshadowed” his speech. A group of NPD supporters protested outside the courthouse during the hearing.
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