founder of Germany's anti-Islam movement Pegida Lutz Bachmann. Image from faz news
Berlin, (IINA) - Lutz Bachmann, founder of Germany‘s anti-Islam movement Pegida, will go on trial on Tuesday for inciting hatred against foreigners after he referred to refugees as "cattle," "garbage" and a "dirty bunch" on Facebook last year, according to media reports.
Bachmann, a 43-year-old convicted burglar and cocaine dealer who founded Pegida in 2014, could face between three months and five years in prison if found guilty.
He was charged with inciting racial hatred in October last year after a series of widely shared Facebook posts in which he described foreign immigrants and asylum seekers as “cattle”, “riff raff” and “a pack of dirt” and concluded: “There is no such thing as real war refugees.”
Prosecutors consider his posts to be maliciously derisive, insightful and an attack on the dignity of refugees.
Known for its frequent rallies against immigration, often met by counter-protests, Pegida stands for Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West.
Bachmann, who denies being racist or extremist, was forced to resign as leader of the party in January last year after he posted a photo of himself online appearing to pose as Adolf Hitler, with a side-parting haircut and toothbrush moustache.
SM/IINA
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