An appeal against the fine imposed on a German Green party politician who embarked on faking a long-running allegation of harassment against him by far-right extremists has been dismissed by a German court.
Manoj Subramaniam, a 33-year-old former local Green councilor in the German town of Erkelenz, alleged last July he had been subjected to sustained acts of harassment by anonymous right-wing extremists. He showed police evidence of the abuse he had received, which included a threatening letter with a razor blade inserted and a swastika drawn onto his vehicle in red paint.
The case made national headlines last year with several prominent politicians offering their solidarity with Subramaniam for the abuse he had received.
“Right-wing extremists are threatening political volunteers to silence them. Thank you, Manoj Subramaniam, for not being silent and raising your voice,” stated Lamya Kaddor, a member of the Bundestag.
Federal police took protective measures for the politician’s safety, and an intensive investigation was initiated by state security, all at considerable cost to the taxpayer. The only issue, however, was that Subramaniam had made it all up.
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“The defendant actually wrote this note himself,” revealed Justus Wassenberg, the press spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office.
It transpired that Subramaniam had also drawn SS runes and a swastika onto the doorbell panel outside his house.
Subramaniam subsequently resigned from his position as a local councilor, and Erkelenz District Court issued the disgraced politician a penalty order of €3,600 for faking criminal offenses, a fine he appealed.
On Wednesday, his complaints against the court decision were finally withdrawn after a court ruled the amount of the fine to be final.
Germans news outlet Junge Freiheit reported how Subramaniam burst into tears in the courtroom and was handed handkerchiefs by his lawyer, all to no avail.
The site also reported that Subramaniam has since returned to his post as a local councilor despite the criminal conviction and fine being upheld by the appellate court.
