German prosecutors drop probe of nationalist's slur on Turks

Published June 05, 2018

German prosecutors have closed their investigation into a prominent member of the far-right nationalist Alternative for Germany party whose comments about Turks drew outrage in February.

Andre Poggenburg resigned from his party posts following widespread criticism, including from within his party, for referring to Turkish people as "camel drivers" who had "no business" being in Germany.

The dpa news agency reported Tuesday that Dresden prosecutors found the comments by Poggenburg, who was the party's leader in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, were covered by his right to free speech.

Prosecutors noted that while Poggenburg had railed against members of the Turkish community "in a polemical fashion," he hadn't called for violence against them.

Authorities received more than 240 criminal complaints about the comments.

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