German AfD politician banned from Twitter over anti-Muslim tweet

Beatrix von Storch, the deputy head of the Alternative für Deutschland's  (AfD) parliamentary fraction, was temporarily banned from Twitter over an anti-Muslim tweet.

Von Storch reacted to a message from the Cologne police, which tweeted New Year's wishes in Arabic – among other languages – by writing on the social media site that the authorities were trying to appease "barbaric, Muslim, group-raping hordes of men".

Twitter banned her for 12 hours on Monday, as the tweet contravened the company's rules concerning hate-speech.

German police are now also investigating whether von Storch should be charged with incitement to hatred after a lawsuit against the politician was filed, according to Frankfurter Allgemeine. 

Von Storch was back on Twitter on Monday evening and tweeted that Facebook had now deleted her post concerning the police's tweet, too. 

During New Year's Eve celebrations in Cologne in 2016, dozens of women were sexually assaulted in the streets by groups of men, which police said were largely of North African origin who had recently come to Germany.

Berlin this year installed "women-only zones" for New Year's Eve celebrations, which caused heated reactions. 

The AfD was particularly critical of the zones, printing posters reading: "Celebrating the New Year as a woman? You will spend New Year's Eve in the anti-groping tent!"

NetzDG

On January 1, 2018, a German law came into force stipulating that social media sites that failed to remove "obviously illegal" hate speech within 24 hours could face fines of up to €50 million.

The law, called Netzwerkdurchsetzungsgesetz (NetzDG), was enacted in October 2017, but companies were given until the end of the year to prepare for it. 

The head of the AfD's parliamentary fraction, Alice Weidel, reacted to von Storch's suspension and wrote on Facebook that the year had started with a "censorship" law and the "submission of our authorities to the imported, marauding, groping, brawling, knife-stabbing migrant mobs that we should get used to". 

Weidel's comment on Twitter was also deleted. She posted a screenshot of the message showing it was removed on Facebook and said: "Welcome to the GDR 2.0! Now, thanks to the NetzDG, a lot will be deleted."