German anti-immigrant advocate found guilty of hate speech

A German court has convicted the founder of an anti-immigrant group of hate speech.

Bachmann was first charged last October of posting Facebook comments describing refugees, mostly Muslims, as "cattle," "filth" and "scum."

He was sentenced to a fine of €9,600. He will not face prison.

The court said Bachmann openly insulted the human dignity of refugees who came to Germany from war-torn countries, maliciously acting and inciting hatred against them.

Bachmann. 43, is the founder of the German group Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West. The group, known as PEGIDA, organized anti-immigration rallies that drew thousands of people and has adherents in neighboring countries.

He opposes German's refugee policy, which welcomed more than 1 million asylum seekers in 2015.

The first few PEGIDA demonstrations drew massive counter-rallies that far outnumbered the anti-immigration crowds. But the PEGIDA movement has not only outlasted its opponents, but it also is growing, fueled in part by public fears of the ongoing refugee crisis.

"Every Monday night we come to gather peacefully. We are not Nazis," a man said in October. "We don't want to be labeled as Nazis and we don't want to be painted into the right-wing corner. We just don't want to become strangers in our own country."

SOURCE