A German federal court has temporarily suspended a ban on the far-right magazine Compact, allowing it to continue publishing while its appeal is being considered. The ban was imposed by Interior Minister Nancy Faeser last month, who described Compact as a platform for right-wing extremism that promotes hate speech against Jews, migrants, and democracy.
Compact, published by Compact-Magazin GmbH and led by far-right figure Jürgen Elsässer, includes a monthly magazine with a circulation of around 40,000, an online video channel (Compact TV), and an online shop selling various products. The magazine has been in circulation since 2010 and has been criticized for disseminating antisemitic, anti-minority, revisionist, and conspiracy theory content.
The Federal Administrative Court decided to suspend the ban after a preliminary review of the case raised doubts about the justification for the ban based on proportionality. While acknowledging the militant and aggressive stance of Compact towards constitutional principles, the court found the chances of Compact's appeal succeeding to be uncertain.
The rise of the far right in Germany has raised concerns, with the domestic intelligence agency highlighting the dissemination of extremist content by publications like Compact. The court's decision to suspend the ban reflects the complex legal and societal challenges posed by the presence of far-right ideologies in the country.
