< p>The regional leader of the far-right party "Alternative for Germany" (AzG) in the central German province of Thuringia, Bjorn Hoecke was found guilty and fined again for using a banned Nazi slogan, DPA reported, citing BTA.
Fifty-two-year-old Hoecke was convicted for having, in a speech at a party event in the town of Gera, Thuringia, invited party supporters to chant the banned motto of the Nazi stormtroopers from the SA (Sturmabteilung, SA - in Bulgarian Assault Squads) " ;All about Germany" (Alles für Deutschland).
Hoecke said the first two words of the slogan, then used gestures to encourage the audience to shout the third word, according to prosecutors.
At the time, he had been criminally charged for quoting the same slogan in a speech at an election campaign event for the party in the city of Merseburg, Saxony-Anhalt, in May 2021. In May of this year, Hoecke was convicted of this case and the court ruled to pay a fine in the amount of 100 daily rates of 130 euros, DPA recalls. He is currently appealing the sentence.
Today the District Court in the city of Halle - the largest city in the state of Saxony-Anhalt - found Höcke guilty of the charges of using symbols of unconstitutional and terrorist organizations and imposed another fine on him - this time in the amount of 16,900 euro (130 daily rates of 130 euro each).
Höcke is the leading candidate of the AzG in the local elections for the Landtag (local parliaments) in the state of Thuringia, where the party has a significant lead according to opinion polls.
"Alternative to Germany" is campaigning for three upcoming Landtag votes in the states of Thuringia and Saxony, where elections will take place on September 1, as well as in the state of Brandenburg, where voters will exercise their right to vote on September 22. The far-right party ranks first in all provinces, according to sociological surveys, DPA notes.