German police raided 170 people for criticizing politicians on social media

During the early hours of Wednesday, a large-scale police operation was launched across Germany, targeting hundreds of people accused of insulting politicians or posting messages considered "hate" on the internet.

During this authoritarian large-scale operation, police conducted raids at the homes of 170 people, seizing computers, mobile phones, and other devices, and carrying out raids in different regions of the country.

The action was driven by the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), as part of the enforcement of the new Article 188 of the Penal Code, which allows action against individuals accused of "incitement to hatred" and "racist expressions".

The Interior Minister of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Herbert Reul (CDU), who has faced a notable increase in crime in his jurisdiction, including violent crimes and knife attacks carried out by illegal immigrants, emphatically supported the operation against freedom of expression.

"Digital arsonists must not be able to hide behind their mobile phones or their computers," Reul stated.

Although the number of such raids has increased significantly in recent years, violent crime in Germany has also reached record levels, largely due to mass illegal immigration, a fact supported by official statistics.

Nevertheless, German authorities have focused their resources on pursuing users on social networks, including citizens who express concern about the relationship between immigration and crime. Even political figures, such as Marie-Thérèse Kaiser from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, have been subject to investigations in this context.

Germany periodically carries out these "action days" aimed at sanctioning citizens accused of violating the new and increasingly authoritarian laws on freedom of expression. In some cases, these actions have caused public outrage when the details become known.

One of the most notable cases was that of the retiree Stefan Niehoff, whose home was raided for calling former Economy Minister Robert Habeck an "idiot".

After the controversy, the government eventually dropped the charge related to the insult, but charged him for other posts. He was convicted for retweeting content, even though many of these were explicitly anti-Nazi and were directed against left-wing politicians.