On Wednesday, the Bavarian Highest Regional Court overturned the criminal conviction of a politician.

This decision was made by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) on charges of incitement.

Florian Jäger, a former AfD member of Germany’s parliament, made statements in a video posted on Facebook.

He compared Germany’s coronavirus vaccination campaign with the bloody Nazi-led pogroms against Jews in November 1938 known as Kristallnacht.

A trial court in Munich convicted Jäger on two counts of incitement and slapped him with a fine of €2,700 ($2,932).

The trial court had concluded that Jäger’s comments linked the measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic with the uncertainty and injustice of the National Socialists against Jews in Germany.

On Wednesday, the appeal court overturned that verdict, ruling that Mr Jäger’s comments are protected by freedom of expression.

The Bavarian appeals court, however, argued that Mr Jäger’s comments could be interpreted in different ways, such as a suggestion that politicians seek simple solutions against scapegoats.

Mr Jäger remains chairman of the local Alternative for Germany (AfD) party organisation in the Bavarian town of Fürstenfeldbruck, just northwest of Munich.

German law imposes limits on making comparisons to the Holocaust and prohibits the use of Nazi Party slogans or symbols outside certain educational or historical settings.

(dpa/NAN)