BERLIN (AP) — A high-profile politician in the far-right Alternative for Germany party was convicted for the second time Monday of knowingly using a Nazi slogan at a political event.
Björn Höcke, who plans to run for governor in the eastern state of Thuringia in September, was fined for using the banned Nazi slogan “Everything for Germany.”
The Halle Regional Court found the 52-year-old guilty of using signs of unconstitutional and terrorist organizations and sentenced him to a fine of 130 daily rates of 130 euros each — or 16,900 euros ($18,000) — German news agency dpa reported.
An appeal against the ruling is possible. The conviction won't block him from running in the election.
The charge of using symbols of an unconstitutional organization can carry a fine or up to three years in prison.
Höcke was already fined 13,000 euros in May, also for using symbols of an unconstitutional organization, a verdict that his lawyers are appealing.
The earlier case centered on a speech in Merseburg in May 2021 in which Höcke used the phrase “Everything for Germany!” Judges last month agreed with prosecutors’ argument that the former history teacher was aware of its origin as a slogan of the Nazis’ SA stormtroopers.
In the current case, prosecutors alleged that he repeated the offense at an Alternative for Germany, or AfD, event in Gera in December, “in certain knowledge” that using the slogan is a criminal offense.
They alleged that Höcke said “Everything for ...” and encouraged the audience to shout “Germany!”
Höcke again insisted that he did nothing wrong, dpa reported.
“I am also completely innocent in this case,” he said. “I know I will be convicted. But that doesn’t feel fair to me.”
Höcke questioned whether using the phrase of such everyday words constitutes a criminal offense.
In his ruling on Monday, Judge Jan Stengel said a video of the speech in Gera showed Höcke’s "mimic approval” — meaning he had wanted people in the audience to complete the banned slogan, dpa reported.
Alternative for Germany has built a strong core of support, particularly in the formerly communist east — including Thuringia. The party's strength in that region helped propel it to a second-place finish in the European Parliament election earlier this month, taking 15.9% of the vote despite recent scandals and setbacks.
Björn Höcke, center, chairman of the Thuringian AfD, enters the courtroom of the district court shortly before the verdict is announced after his lawyer Florian Gempe, left, in Halle, Germany, Monday July 1, 2024. Höcke was convicted for the second time Monday of knowingly using a Nazi slogan at a political event. (Hendrik Schmidt/dpa via AP)
HATHRAS, India (AP) — Severe overcrowding and a lack of exits contributed to a stampede at a religious festival in northern India, authorities said Wednesday, leaving at least 121 people dead as the faithful surged toward the preacher to touch him and chaos ensued.
Five of those died on Wednesday morning, local official Manish Chaudhry said, and 28 people were still being treated in a hospital.
Deadly stampedes are relatively common at Indian religious festivals, where large crowds gather in small areas with shoddy infrastructure and few safety measures.
Some quarter of a million people turned up for the event Tuesday that was permitted to accommodate only 80,000. It’s not clear how many made it inside the giant tent set up in a muddy field in a village in Hathras district in Uttar Pradesh state.
It was also not clear what sparked the panic. But the state's chief minister, Yogi Adityanath, told reporters that a crowd rushed toward the preacher to touch him as he was descending from the stage, and volunteers struggled to intervene.
An initial report from the police suggested that thousands of people then thronged the exits, and many slipped on the muddy ground, causing them to fall and be crushed in the crowd. Most of the dead were women.
The chaos appeared to continue outside the tent also as followers again ran toward the preacher, a Hindu guru known locally as Bhole Baba, as he left in a vehicle. His security personnel pushed the crowd back, causing more people to fall, according to officials.
Authorities are investigating and searching for the preacher as well as other organizers, whose whereabouts are not known.
Adityanath said he ordered an inquiry by a retired judge into Tuesday's deaths.
Police registered a case of culpable homicide against two organizers, but excluded the preacher. Culpable homicide carries a maximum punishment of life imprisonment in India.
Binod Sokhna, who lost his mother, daughter and wife, wept as he walked out of a morgue on Wednesday.
“My son called me and said, ‘Papa, mother is no more. Come here immediately.' My wife is no more,” he said, crying.
The preacher's Sri Jagat Guru Baba organization had spent more than two weeks preparing for the event.
Followers of the guru from across the state — which is India's most populous with over 200 million people — traveled to the village, with rows of parked vehicles stretching 3 kilometers (nearly 2 miles).
State official Ashish Kumar said there were insufficient exits in the vast tent. It’s not clear how many there were.
Experts said the event violated safety norms. “The function was held in a makeshift tent without ensuring multiple exit routes,” said Sanjay Srivastava, a disaster management expert.
On Tuesday, hundreds of relatives had gathered at local hospitals, wailing in distress at the sight of the dead, placed on stretchers and covered in white sheets on the grounds outside. Buses and trucks also carried dozens of victims to morgues.
Sonu Kumar was one of many local residents who helped lift and move dead bodies after the disaster. He criticized the preacher: “He sat in his car and left. And his devotees here fell one upon another.”
“The screams were so heart-wrenching. We have never seen anything like this before in our village,” Kumar added.
In 2013, pilgrims visiting a temple for a popular Hindu festival in central Madhya Pradesh state trampled one another amid fears that a bridge would collapse. At least 115 were crushed to death or died in the river.
In 2011, more than 100 people died in a crush at a religious festival in the southern state of Kerala.
Banerjee reported from Lucknow, India. Associated Press writer Krutika Pathi contributed from New Delhi.
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Relatives and volunteers carry the bodies on stretchers at the Sikandrarao hospital in Hathras district about 350 kilometers (217 miles) southwest of Lucknow, India, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Thousands of people at a religious gathering rushed to leave a makeshift tent, setting off a stampede Tuesday that killed more than hundred people and injured scores. (AP Photo/Manoj Aligadi)
Relatives mourn next to the bodies of their relatives outside the Sikandrarao hospital in Hathras district about 350 kilometers (217 miles) southwest of Lucknow, India, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Thousands of people at a religious gathering in India rushed to leave a makeshift tent, setting off a stampede Tuesday that killed more than hundred people and injured scores. (AP Photo)
Women mourn next to the body of a relative outside the Sikandrarao hospital in Hathras district about 350 kilometers (217 miles) southwest of Lucknow, India, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Thousands of people at a religious gathering in India rushed to leave a makeshift tent, setting off a stampede Tuesday that killed more than hundred people and injured scores.(AP Photo/Manoj Aligadi)
A woman watches members of a forensic team investigate the scene a day after a fatal stampede, in Fulrai village of Hathras district, Uttar Pradesh, India, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. Thousands of people at a religious gathering rushed to leave a makeshift tent, setting off a stampede Tuesday that killed more than hundred people and injured scores. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
Rain puddles are seen at the scene of a fatal stampede, in Fulrai village of Hathras district about 350 kilometers (220 miles) southwest of the state capital, Lucknow, India, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. Hathras district, Uttar Pradesh, India, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. Thousands of people at a religious gathering rushed to leave a makeshift tent, setting off a stampede Tuesday that killed more than hundred people and injured scores. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
Police tape cordons off the scene a day after a fatal stampede, in Fulrai village of Hathras district, Uttar Pradesh, India, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. Thousands of people at a religious gathering rushed to leave a makeshift tent, setting off a stampede Tuesday that killed more than hundred people and injured scores. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
Members of a forensic team investigate the scene a day after a fatal stampede, in Fulrai village of Hathras district, Uttar Pradesh, India, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. Thousands of people at a religious gathering rushed to leave a makeshift tent, setting off a stampede Tuesday that killed more than hundred people and injured scores. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
People injured in a stampede receive treatment at Hathras district hospital, Uttar Pradesh, India, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. Thousands of people at a religious gathering rushed to leave a makeshift tent, setting off a stampede Tuesday that killed more than hundred people and injured scores. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
A man weeps while hugging the father-in-law of his 37-year-old sister Ruby, victim of a stampede, outside Hathras district hospital, Uttar Pradesh, India, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. Thousands of people at a religious gathering rushed to leave a makeshift tent, setting off a stampede Tuesday that killed more than hundred people and injured scores. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
A man mourns by the body of his 37-year-old sister Ruby, victim of a stampede, outside Hathras district hospital, Uttar Pradesh, India, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. Thousands of people at a religious gathering rushed to leave a makeshift tent, setting off a stampede Tuesday that killed more than hundred people and injured scores. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
Family members of 37-year-old Ruby, victim of a stampede, mourn after receiving her body from a mortuary as they prepare to leave for their hometown, outside Hathras district hospital, Uttar Pradesh, India, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. Thousands of people at a religious gathering rushed to leave a makeshift tent, setting off a stampede Tuesday that killed more than hundred people and injured scores. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
