Marie-Thérèse Kaiser, a politician from the Alternative für Deutschland Party (AfD), has been found guilty of ‘incitement’ for sharing a government link to statistics on rapes committed by migrants and questioning their disproportionately high incidence rate. In a 2021 social media post, Kaiser asked, in the context of refugee resettlement, “Afghan refugees, welcome culture for group rapes?”

In defense of her post, Kaiser explained her impetus was to spark a debate on the alarming crime rates among Afghan migrants. She stressed her concern as a woman feeling threatened, particularly by groups of male migrants. She also voiced concern that unchecked immigration might be fostering an atmosphere conducive to a surge in criminal activity. Her conviction was met with the pronouncement from the judge that “freedom of expression ends where human dignity begins.”

The announcement of the guilty verdict has sparked controversy and critique, including from entrepreneur and tech giant Elon Musk. “Are you saying the fine was for repeating accurate government statistics? Was there anything inaccurate in what she said?” Musk posted to X (formerly Twitter).

Kaiser has stated she will file an appeal against the verdict.

Germany has witnessed an 18 percent spike in foreign suspects, leading to 41 percent of all crime suspects belonging to foreign communities. Conservative factions in the country argue that these statistics point toward the need for a cap on immigration and a revision of integration policies. The German government, however, continues to focus on homegrown conservative ‘extremist’ threats, especially the AfD, which is expected to surge in this summer’s European elections.