jstnomega
December 29th, 2003, 11:22 PM
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=4037135
Court Sentences Members of Neo-Nazi Band
Tue December 23, 2003 10:09 AM ET
BERLIN (Reuters) - A German court has found members of a neo-Nazi rock group guilty inciting racial hatred through the lyrics to its songs, the first case of its kind in the country.
The 38-year-old lead singer of the band "Landser" was sentenced Monday to three years and four months in prison, while two other members received suspended sentences of 21 and 22 months after a trial lasting six months.
The band had "massively disrupted society's cohesiveness" with its song lyrics inciting racial hatred, the court ruled.
Prosecutions have often been brought against individuals under laws banning Nazi propaganda and promotion of racial hatred, but this is the first time a collective prosecution of this kind has been brought against a musical group.
Lawyers for the members of Landser, an old German name that means soldier, said they were considering an appeal.
Court Sentences Members of Neo-Nazi Band
Tue December 23, 2003 10:09 AM ET
BERLIN (Reuters) - A German court has found members of a neo-Nazi rock group guilty inciting racial hatred through the lyrics to its songs, the first case of its kind in the country.
The 38-year-old lead singer of the band "Landser" was sentenced Monday to three years and four months in prison, while two other members received suspended sentences of 21 and 22 months after a trial lasting six months.
The band had "massively disrupted society's cohesiveness" with its song lyrics inciting racial hatred, the court ruled.
Prosecutions have often been brought against individuals under laws banning Nazi propaganda and promotion of racial hatred, but this is the first time a collective prosecution of this kind has been brought against a musical group.
Lawyers for the members of Landser, an old German name that means soldier, said they were considering an appeal.