Advertisement

Neo-Nazi leader banned from German military association

DDP/The Local
DDP/The Local - [email protected]
Neo-Nazi leader banned from German military association
Photo: DPA

Leader of the neo-Nazi NPD party Udo Voigt has been kicked off the DBwV German Military Association after being sentenced to incitement of hatred and slander in a racial discrimination trial last month, broadcaster RBB reported on Wednesday.

Advertisement

The DBwV's leadership decided unanimously to exclude Voigt from the organisation due to the April 24 verdict, Lieutenant Colonel Ulrich Kirsch told RBB.

Voigt, a captain in the Bundeswehr reserves, belonged to the association for some 30 years, but now faces disciplinary action in a military court. If he loses his military status in these proceedings, he also faces being barred from the military reserve association too, Kirsch said.

Voigt and two other NPD leaders were found guilty of offending German national footballer Patrick Owomoyela – who was born in Germany to a Nigerian father and a German mother – in a World Cup pamphlet printed in 2006. The cover of the planner showed a German football uniform with the caption, “White. Not just a jersey-colour! For a truly national team!”

Voigt received a seven month suspended sentence from the Berlin court, while the other two defendants, a 42-year-old and a 66-year-old, were sentenced to suspended sentences of seven and ten months respectively. All three NPD men must also pay fines of €2,000. By receiving suspended sentences the three will not serve any actual jail time.

The case was centred on the number on the shirt pictured, which the state prosecutors said was 25, Owomoyela’s jersey number in the 2006 World Cup squad.

A second version of the pamphlet showed a mocked-up picture of the German national team with only one white team member featuring a text suggesting that the team was becoming overrun by dark-skinned immigrants. The prosecutors said that the flyer tried to disqualify non-white Germans the right to play for the national team.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also