Germany's new law backs deportations for terrorism praise

German government ministers on Wednesday agreed on draft legislation to simplify the deportation process for individuals who express support for terrorism, Germany's Interior Ministry said.

The move comes in reaction to online hate posts that celebrated the Hamas attack on Israel and other terrorist incidents.

What is the proposed deportation change?

The draft law would allow deportation if someone is considered to have approved of a single terrorist offense. No criminal conviction would be necessary for an individual to be deported.

Expressions of approval could include not only posting of hateful content on social media but also marking a hate post with a "like" or other positive reaction on platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz had announced plans to change the law, allowing deportations to countries such as Afghanistan and Syria, after a deadly knife attack on an anti-Islam rally in Mannheim, in which a policeman died.

Promoting and praising terrorism was a "slap in the face for the victims, their families and our democratic order", he said.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser put forward the changes, arguing that Berlin was "taking tough action against Islamist and anti-Semitic hate crime online."

"It is very clear to us that Islamist agitators who are mentally living in the Stone Age have no place in our country," Faeser told the Funke media group before Wednesday's cabinet meeting.

"Anyone who does not have a German passport and glorifies terrorist acts here must — wherever possible — be expelled."

Concern about freedom of speech

The draft law, which still needs to be passed by parliament, says that glorifying acts of terror online fuels a climate of violence, which can encourage extremists and violent criminals.

However, critics say the draft excessively clamps down on freedom of speech and said the measures were similar to tactics used by authoritarian regimes.

Clara Bünger of the socialist Left Party in parliament said the move was the culmination of a worrying trend. 

Bünger said that persecution of individuals for a simple "like" on social media, in such countries as Turkey and Russia, had understandably been met with condemnation from German politicians. "However, Germany itself has long been moving in this direction," she added.

The measure comes amid rising concern about migration and security and a surge in support for the anti-migrant far-right Alternative for Germany party.

rc/sms (AFP, dpa, Reuters)