One of the major banks in Austria, Sparkasse, has canceled the bank account of the media outlet Freilich just weeks after the outlet published an investigative report on a meeting involving the German Green Party and its efforts to ban the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
Since then, the Steiermärkische Sparkasse terminated Freilich’s bank account, giving the publication four weeks’ notice.
The magazine wrote in response that the bank is not offering any reason behind the cancelation.
“There is none — even when we asked, we were not given a reason. Our ‘crime’ was apparently to practice real journalism outside the left-wing mainstream,” the publication wrote, adding: “This step is more than an unusual business decision – there is clearly a deliberate attempt to silence us. Without a bank account, we are facing an organizational catastrophe: no income, no way to pay bills or salaries, no infrastructure. But one thing is clear: we are not giving up.”
The Freilich report about the Greens’ efforts to ban the AfD was widely covered in the German media, but also by some international outlets, including Remix News.
The Greens and other parties are plotting the best way to ban the AfD. German publication @freilichmagazin says it went undercover to learn about how top officials are planning to move forward with a ban on the country’s second most popular party. https://t.co/v612HpCvNI
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) November 26, 2024Freilich notes the pressure is coming at a particular time when parties like the AfD and the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) are at record levels — or near record levels — of popularity.
“Because this attack is not just aimed at us, but at the entire conservative-liberal movement. In a country where the Freedom Party is the party with the most votes, the political competition is clearly trying to use all means possible to eliminate unwelcome voices. After the recent electoral successes of the FPÖ and AfD, the pressure on our like-minded community is apparently increasing,” writes the paper.
It also comes at a time when the German government is not only actively trying to ban the AfD, but the FPÖ’s leader, Herbert Kickl, is also facing criminal prosecution after his immunity was lifted.
🚨🇩🇪German police have raided houses and arrested people accused of "insulting" politicians online.
In response to criticism, German Green Party MP Renate Künast says that "anyone who criticizes this is supporting right-wing extremism."
She is the same Green politician… pic.twitter.com/ZydRDnFxPx
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) November 25, 2024The FPÖ has spoken out against the de-banking efforts against Freilich, with FPÖ media spokesman and general secretary Christian Hafenecker condemning the termination of the bank account of the conservative liberal magazine.
“This is quite obvious ‘de-banking,’ with which alternative, patriotic media are to be deprived of the possibility of financing and thus their basis for existence is to be destroyed, as is repeatedly demanded by left-wing and left-wing extremist circles. The aim of these enemies of freedom of the press and freedom of expression is to silence critical voices, published opinions and classifications outside the media mainstream, which is inundated with government advertisements and subsidies,” stated Hafenecker.
The efforts to de-bank Freilich come at a time when conservative media is facing unprecedented threats — and not just the traditional types of censorship. Now, in Germany, house raids are being conducted against journalists and the banning of entire publications, most notably against Compact Magazine.
🇩🇪 Extraordinary scenes in Germany as police raid the home of Jürgen Elsässer, the publisher of the right-wing Compact Magazine, and remove various belongings from his residence outside Berlin.
Germany's interior minister has placed a blanket ban on the entire publication.
It… pic.twitter.com/KsV03IbbSs
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) July 16, 2024A court has since reversed the decision to ban Compact, which originally saw the entire publication wiped off the internet, but it marked a sharp escalation by the left to shut down a free press. A ban could still happen, but it must be determined by the German Constitutional Court, a step the German interior ministry completely ignored when it sicked police forces against the publisher of Compact.
