German police have asked prosecutors to investigate far-Right lawmaker Beatrix von Storch for possible incitement to hatred after she criticised the police force for tweeting in Arabic “to appease the barbaric, Muslim, rapist hoards of men”.
Police in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) posted a New Year’s Eve greeting in Arabic as well as German, English and French. Cologne, a city where groups of mainly Arab immigrants were accused of sexual assaults at New Year’s Eve celebrations two years ago, is located in the State.
Twitter suspended her account for some 12 hours after she posted the message, saying it breached the micro-blogging website’s rules that bar users from posting hateful messages.
Social media platforms face hefty fines in Germany if they fail to remove hateful postings swiftly.
If prosecutors deem there is sufficient grounds to launch an official criminal investigation against Ms. Von Storch, they would first have to ask Parliament to suspend her immunity before proceeding with a case.
