A German court lifts a government ban on a far-right magazine

BERLIN (AP) — A German court on Tuesday lifted a ban imposed by the government last year on a far-right magazine, ruling that the case against it didn’t clear the high bar required to outlaw its publisher.

Germany’s previous government banned Compact magazine and the company that publishes it, Compact-Magazin GmbH, in July. Then-Interior Minister Nancy Faeser described Compact as “a central mouthpiece of the right-wing extremist scene,” and said that it “agitates in an unspeakable way against Jews, against people with a history of migration and against our parliamentary democracy.”

Compact appealed to the Federal Administrative Court, which suspended the ban in August pending a full consideration of the case. Following a hearing earlier this month, the court lifted the ban altogether on Tuesday.

The court said in a statement that Germany’s constitution guarantees freedom of the press and opinion “even for the enemies of freedom” and that, on grounds of proportionality, a ban could only be justified if the publisher’s anti-constitutional activities were proven to be “formative” for the group. It said a review of the evidence showed that the material in question didn’t reach that threshold.

Compact is run by far-right figure Jürgen Elsässer, and produces the monthly magazine of the same name, which has a circulation of about 40,000, as well as an online video channel, Compact TV. It also runs an online shop selling books, CDs, DVDs and other merchandise.

Compact has been published since 2010. In its annual report for 2023, Germany’s domestic intelligence agency said that it “regularly disseminates … antisemitic, anti-minority, historically revisionist and conspiracy theory content.”

The strength of the far right has caused increasing concern in Germany in recent years.