Most charges have been dropped after an investigation into last year’s scandal over alleged racist chanting at a bar on the northern German island of Sylt, prosecutors in Flensburg said Monday.
Several guests at the Pony Bar in Kampen allegedly sang “Germany to the Germans — foreigners out!” in the Pony Bar in Kampen last May, which led to an investigation on suspicion of incitement to hatred.
Who was charged?
However, only one 26-year-old man was “publicly charged” for a “waving greeting” with an outstretched arm and the suggestion of a “Hitler moustache,” according to the press release. These gestures were clearly seen in a video that went viral on social media.
Among other things, he was ordered to pay €2,500 (around $2,800) to a charitable organization as a condition of probation. Further proceedings for incitement to hatred were dropped. If he accepts the fine, there will be no trial.
Meanwhile, the case against two men and a woman was dropped because shouting the slogans shouted in the video did not constitute the crime of incitement to hatred, prosecutors said.
What happened at the Pony Bar on Sylt?
The incident, which was captured in a video lasting just a few seconds and uploaded to social media without comment, sparked nationwide outrage last May.
It showed several young people chanting “foreigners out” and “Germany for the Germans” on the terrace of the pub during a party to the hit song “L’Amour Toujours”. Gigi D’Agostino, whose song was used, made it clear that it was all about love.
In the weeks that followed, other incidents involving the song were reported, including public incidents in Bavaria and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
Editor: Alex Berry
