A German man has been fined over $17,000 for insulting two German politicians over their support for COVID lockdown rules.
A 34-year-old engineer in Germany was fined over $16,000 by a district court on Monday after he was found guilty of sending an email to a government department insulting two pro-lockdown politicians by name.
While most Western nations have since long since largely moved on from the Wuhan virus, some lockdown rules remain in effect in Germany, with mask mandates remaining in place on large swathes of public transport.
Speaking out against the measures has not been easy for many in the country, with protests at the height of the restrictions being regularly cracked down on by police, while strict laws on speech ban normal citizens from insulting sitting politicians.
According to a report by the Süddeutsche Zeitung, the man in question admitted to sending an email targeting by name Bavarian prime minister Markus Söder and Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann.
The man is said to have described the men as being “mendacious, corrupt, power-hungry, characterless and dishonourable creatures”, calling them “sons of bitches”, “complete idiots”, and “professional criminals” who deserve to go to prison.
The author is also said to have written that he would neither allow himself to be vaccinated nor pay any fine for failing to get a Covid jab, a point seemingly in reference to the fact that — at the time the email was sent — Söder was in favour of mandatory vaccination being implemented in Germany.
As a result of the email, the man was fined €16,500 (~$17,000).
As noted by conservative-leaning newspaper Junge Freiheit, the hefty fine handed to the man stands in sharp contrast to Germany’s lax attitude towards militant climate protesters, a significant number of whom have taken to blocking roads and vandalising art and buildings in the name of the green agenda.
Although there have been increasing warnings from various experts that the ongoing militant protests could drift towards terrorism, authorities in Germany have opted to hand extremely light sentences to those found guilty of breaking the law with their climate activism.
The country’s left-wing Federal Government has so far also resisted calls to implement a law allowing for tougher sentencing of road-blocking climate activists, despite the fact that such protests have now been linked to the death of one woman.
According to reports, a female cyclist had been involved in a traffic accident that saw her badly injured, while emergency services were left significantly delayed reaching the scene due to a road blockade implemented by green extremist group the Last Generation.
The woman was pronounced brain-dead the following week.