The opinion relates to an individual complaint filed by the Turkish Federation in Berlin-Brandenburg (TBB) against the Federal Republic of Germany. The subject matter is the discontinuation by German law enforcement authorities of preliminary proceedings on charges of incitement to hatred against Dr. Thilo Sarrazin. The accusation relates to statements made in an interview published in Germany in the fall of 2009 in the magazine “Lettre International.”
With this statement, the Institute wants to make clear that the individual case at hand touches on fundamental aspects concerning the protection against racism and racist discrimination in Germany, taking into account the high importance of freedom of expression, to which Germany has committed itself by ratifying the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).
The statement is available for download.