The director of a German far-right media outlet received a suspended prison sentence in a freedom of expression case.

The editor-in-chief of Deutschland-Kurier, known as far-right, has been accused of insulting German Interior Minister Faeser in a social media post.

David Bendels, the editor-in-chief of the media outlet Deutschland-Kurier, known for its ties to the Alternative for Germany (AfD) Party, received a seven-month suspended prison sentence for sharing a digitally altered photo of German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, and was ordered to send her a written apology. According to Der Spiegel, the photo in question was shared by Bendels on the outlet's X account at the end of February. The post showed Faeser holding a banner that read "I hate freedom of expression," and the photo was widely shared by numerous users on social media. The original image was taken from an official Interior Ministry post showing Faeser holding a banner commemorating the victims of National Socialism with the words "We Remember." The court concluded that neutral viewers might not realize that the relevant photo was manipulated. It was reported that Faeser was alerted about this post by the police and later filed a complaint. Bendels has no prior criminal convictions and is expected to appeal. He insists that the post was intended as satire.