German intelligence must stop statements about fraternity

Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the Verfassungsschutz, has been prohibited from further distributing specific statements concerning the Burschenschaft "Germania Halle zu Mainz." The Higher Administrative Court (OVG) in Koblenz issued a preliminary injunction against the agency, halting the spread of a passage from its 2024 report.

The contested statement, found in the report's "New Right" chapter, alleged that a fraternity member wrote in the "Burschenschaftliche Blätter" in 2022 that only individuals with verifiable German ancestry could be considered German. The report further suggested this view, referencing case law on the "Identitarian Movement," indicated a racist worldview incompatible with Germany's Basic Law and human dignity.

The OVG found the first sentence of this passage to be an untrue factual assertion. The court stated that the original article did not contain the claim literally or in substance. Because the subsequent value judgments in the report were based on this assertion, they were also deemed objectionable. The court concluded these statements constituted an unlawful infringement on the applicant's general right to personality.

This decision stems from a preliminary injunction proceeding and does not resolve the main case. The main legal battle concerns whether the "Germania Halle zu Mainz" fraternity can be classified as an observation target by the Verfassungsschutz of Rhineland-Palatinate. The fraternity's alumni association had previously failed in its legal challenge against this classification.