Berlin Left Party Sends Cease-and-Desist Letters to Multiple Interior Ministers Over Clan Crime Remarks

The Berlin faction of the Left Party has taken legal steps against several interior ministers who have publicly criticized the party's stance on clan crime. Among the recipients is Armin Schuster, Saxony's interior minister, who posted on his ministry's Instagram account that the party's victory in Berlin was a slap in the face of respectable citizens and warned against governing without a firm line against clan criminals, antisemites and left-wing extremists.

The party's lawyer argues that the post constituted an official statement funded by state resources, breaching the requirement for political neutrality and harming the party's right to equal competition. Similar cease-and-desist letters were sent to federal economy minister Katherina Reiche, Schleswig-Holstein interior minister Magdalena Finke, and the Brandenburg interior minister. A separate criminal complaint was filed against Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt following remarks made on a television program. Ministers have until the specified deadline to acknowledge the injunction, or face expedited legal proceedings.