Far-right German politician Bystron acquitted of posting Hitler salute

A Munich court on Thursday overturned an earlier conviction and acquitted Petr Bystron, a member of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in the European Parliament, over a photo he posted of former Chancellor Angela Merkel with her hand outstretched in an alleged Hitler salute.

The president of the Munich regional court said the post was “in bad taste” but did not constitute a criminal offense. Displaying the Hitler salute is illegal in Germany.

The case centered on a photo collage shared by Bystron on Twitter (now X) in 2022, on the occasion of the dismissal of the then Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk.

The collage bore the caption “Goodbye Melnyk! German politicians say goodbye!” and showed Merkel and Bettina Wulff, then wife of the former German president, both with one arm raised and one hand outstretched.

The prosecution argued that Bystron actually used the banned Hitler salute, saying he and his team manipulated the salute to make it appear as if the individuals depicted were performing it.

The Munich District Court upheld its judgment and fined Bystron 11,250 euros ($13,240) for using the insignia of unconstitutional and terrorist organizations.

Bystron and the prosecution appealed, with the defense seeking an acquittal, while the prosecution sought a conviction carrying a higher fine.

Bystron, who initially did not plan to appear during the appeal proceedings but ultimately did so after his lawyer’s power of attorney proved insufficient, called it “completely absurd” for anyone to seek to “imput” a Hitler salute on him in connection with the collage.

He added that people should not always interpret every “harmless wave” as a Hitler salute.

The presiding judge said the court was not entirely convinced that Bystron broadcast the banned Hitler salute.

The court of appeal could not establish that any of the photographs had been manipulated. An image was reflected, however, showing Wulff with his left arm raised, not his right arm as in the Hitler salute.

Bystron said he was satisfied with the result. “It was clear from the start that the first instance decision would not be upheld,” he said. Regarding the accusation of tastelessness, he said that matters of taste were left for each person to judge for themselves.

The initial proceedings began when Bystron filed a complaint against a sanction order issued by the Munich District Court in this case.

Bystron had previously described the procedure as an attempt to “discredit” him during the recent European Parliament election campaign.

He said he was surprised that the judicial system allowed itself to be “instrumentalized for such political party games”.