Several German states have denied that its public use “Z” symbolused as a sign of support for Russia’s “victory” in the war in Ukraine, will henceforth be a criminal offense.
Iris Spranger, the “senator”) in charge of the Berlin state’s portfolio of Home Affairs, explained in a statement published today in the Tagesspiegel newspaper that “in cases where the use of Z linked to the war in Ukraine, as in Russian military vehicles, this of course means support for the offensive war. That’s going to be a criminal offense and we’re going to intervene immediately. “
Ms Spranger invoked Article 140 of the Penal Code, which criminalizes the use of certain symbols and carries penalties of up to three years in prison and / or fines.
On Friday, Lower Saxony and Bavaria also announced they would criminalize the use of the symbol. “We do not approve of the commission of crimes that violate international law,” Bavarian Justice Minister Georg Eisenreich told the German news agency.
In Stuttgart and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, lawmakers voted in favor of banning the symbol.
“The ‘Z’ symbol of fascism of (Russian President Vladimir Putin) Putin should be banned throughout Germany,” said Joachim Stump, the North Rhine-Westphalia refugee minister, via Twitter.
The “Z” is an abbreviation of the phrase “for victory” in Russian — although the Cyrillic alphabet has no zeta.
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