BERLIN (AP) — German authorities conducted searches across the country and questioned more than 100 suspects on Tuesday as part of an investigation into hate messages against politicians related to last year's general elections, the prosecution said.
According to the Frankfurt Prosecutor's Office and the Federal Criminal Police Office, the searches resulted from the analysis of more than 600 social media posts for their criminal content. The investigation was based on the law that came into force last year to impose higher punishments for slander and abuse on persons involved “in political life” whether at the local, regional or federal level.
The regulations provide for up to three years' imprisonment for abuses motivated by a person's position in the public sphere that may “significantly complicate his public work”.
Prosecutors did not identify the recipients of the messages that prompted the searches, but said the investigation covered comments against politicians from all parties represented in the national parliament and that two-thirds were against women. They included abuses against nationally known politicians, in addition to false quotes that seemed to seek to discredit their targets, they added.
The parliament was elected at the end of September.
Tuesday's operation “makes clear the scale of insults, slander and threats that public officials receive on the internet,” said Torsten Kunze, chief prosecutor of Hesse, in central Germany, in a statement.
No arrests were reported immediately.
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