Removal of the criminal offense of insulting politicians

The Bundestag has rejected the AfD parliamentary group's draft law to abolish the criminal offense of insulting politicians. With the draft law “Strengthening freedom of expression and equality before the law”, the AfD parliamentary group called for the deletion of Section 188 of the Criminal Code (StGB). This paragraph regulates insults, slander and slander against people in political life and provides for special criminal protection for this. In support of their application, the group argued that Section 188 of the Criminal Code leads to unequal treatment, as identical insults are punished differently depending on the person affected. Since a change in the law in 2021, the paragraph contains a qualification for insulting politicians. In the group's opinion, this contradicts the democratic self-image of the Federal Republic of Germany. In its recommendation for a resolution, the Committee for Legal Affairs and Consumer Protection recommended rejecting the draft law. This recommendation was followed by the majority of Parliament and the bill was rejected with 440 votes against. 133 MPs voted in favor and there were no abstentions.