Pegida Leader Escapes Jail but Is Fined for 'Inciting Hatred' Against Refugees

The leader of German anti-immigration group Pegida has been fined for insulting refugees and immigrants in a social media post.

Lutz Bachmann, 43, went on trial in April in a court in Dresden, capital of the German state of Saxony. He was ordered to pay a fine of 9,600 euros ($11,000) but escaped a prison sentence.

In a Facebook post two years ago Bachmann had called immigrants "trash, "cattle," and "brutes."

During the trial, which began in mid-April, prosecutors for the state argued that the internet is a public forum, and Bachmann's comments could be considered as aimed at inciting hatred with the potential to disturb public peace.

In an attempt to refute that, his lawyer Katja Reichel argued that Bachmann's account could have been hacked. "The comments, came not from him, but from a stranger," she said.

However, during court proceedings a video of a Pegida rally held in January 2015 was produced, where Bachmann seemed to be defending the comments, claiming he had "used words that everyone has used at least once."

Bachmann is one of the founders of Pegida — an acronym that stands for Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West.

He has a colorful past that reportedly includes an arrest for drug-related offenses and fleeing to South Africa to escape jail time for burglary charges. He was eventually extradited, serving 14 months in prison.

Last year, he was briefly forced to resign from his role after a picture emerged of him posing as Adolf Hitler.

At the time, Germany's Deputy Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel condemned Bachmann, while saying: "Anyone who puts on a Hitler disguise is either an idiot or a Nazi."

Pegida was founded in Dresden on October 24, 2014, with its weekly protests soon gathering thousands of supporters, who argue that Germany needs to be more controlled with its immigration policy. Though 25,000 turned out for protests at the height of the movement's popularity, Deutsche Welle reports that interest has since waned, with just 3,000 attending Monday's march.

The group's formation led to mass discussion around the prevalence of xenophobia in German society, and debate about whether those who identified with the movement are really neo-Nazis or just disenfranchised citizens.

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Last year Germany welcomed some 1.1 million migrants and refugees, prompting a backlash from far-right groups who argue that the systems are overburdened as well as expressing fears that the new arrivals will refuse to accept Germany's laws and culture.

The movement has been dismissed by Chancellor Angela Merkel, who warned German citizens not to be taken in by "incitement and lies about people who come to other countries."

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