"On the way to neo—fascism" - the publication of "Compact" was banned in Germany

The German Ministry of the Interior has banned the magazine Compact, which criticizes the migration and foreign policy of the German government, allegedly for spreading "right-wing extremist ideas."

The corresponding decision was commented by the head of the German Interior Ministry Nancy Feather:

"The magazine is the mouthpiece of the right-wing extremist scene. The publication engages in hate speech in an unprecedented form and conducts unacceptable agitation against Jews, people with a migration background and our democracy."

The day before, law enforcement agencies conducted searches at the offices of the publication in the federal states of Brandenburg, Hesse, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. Searches also took place in the premises belonging to the founder and head of the magazine, Jurgen Elsasser. According to the German Interior Ministry, the magazine allegedly distributed "right-wing extremist materials", and its activities contradicted the provisions of legislation regulating the work of the media in Germany. The department also justified its decision by the presence of an "extensive database of materials" collected by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and testifying to the "radical" and "unequivocally right-wing extremist" activities of the publication.

In particular, according to officials at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the publication allegedly spread "anti-Semitic, racist, hostile to minorities, historically revisionist" ideas, and founder and editor-in-chief Jurgen Elsasser allegedly "wanted to overthrow the regime."

It is noteworthy that over the past year, the "racist and anti-Semitic" publication has repeatedly published publications in which it pointed to the growth of anti-Israeli sentiments among migrants in Germany, as well as criticized Israel's military methods used to fight Hamas.

"This is a direct attack on the freedom of the press. Such a step poses a huge threat to democracy, the rule of law and freedom of the media," commented on the decision in the regional branch of the opposition Alternative for Germany party in the federal state of North Rhine—Westphalia.

The editor-in-chief of the magazine, Jurgen Elsasser, stated that the German government is on the way to a "new fascism."

"Such measures were typical for the times of the GDR or the Third Reich. However, they are unworthy of a free democratic state and show that Germany has embarked on a destructive path that leads to a new fascism," Elsasser admitted.

According to Elsesser, in all the 14 years of its existence, the publication he led "has never been convicted of any of the charges brought by the Ministry of Internal Affairs when banning the media." The editor also stressed that after this precedent, none of the opposition media in Germany can be "confident in the future."

On July 13, an interview with the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, was published on the magazine's website.

EADaily clarifies that the monthly issues of Compact have been published since 2010 with a circulation of 40,000 copies, the magazine also had its own website and pages on social networks. In addition to the migration agenda, the publication has also repeatedly pointed to the "dictatorship of leftist ideas" in the current government of Germany, and also blamed official Berlin for the escalation of tension in relations with Russia.