Summary

Journalist and columnist Anna Belschunke is registered by Bremen Police under "PMK-Right" (politically motivated crime – Right-wing) without formal charges or notification. The reason: a social media comment in which she criticized Muslim activists who had massively attacked her. The case reveals a systemic problem: while Belschunke herself experiences massive online harassment, her counter-speech is being criminalized. According to her conclusion, Germany is moving in a direction where critical statements about migration and Islam are effectively punishable—not through court verdicts, but through diffuse preventive registrations.

Persons

Topics

  • Freedom of opinion & criminal prosecution
  • Politically motivated crime (PMK)
  • Asymmetrical online violence
  • Crisis of trust in rule of law
  • AfD rise & established politics

Clarus Lead

A police letter without charges: Bremen Police registers journalist Anna Belschunke under the security classification "PMK-Right" after someone reported her social media comment—in which she defended herself against online harassment by Islamist influencers. For Belschunke, this is symptomatic: While she herself suffers threats and "highly aggressive" attacks, her response to them is criminalized and marked in police databases as "right-wing extremist behavior." This has massive practical consequences—the entry follows her at every traffic stop, at every contact with authorities. Belschunke sees in this not just an individual case, but a pattern of selective prosecution that systematically targets critical voices on migration and Islam.

Detailed Summary

The Incident in Detail

Belschunke had responded to aggressive posts by Muslim influencers who had produced videos about her for months and urged their followers to report her. In her response, she wrote that "Muslims [are] the Nazis of today"—polarized, but concise counter-speech to months of hate. She later voluntarily deleted the post, not out of guilt, but to end the escalation. Nevertheless, this led to a report from an unknown person from Bremen—a different federal state than hers (Lower Saxony). The remarkable thing: Belschunke received only an administrative letter about data storage, not about the report itself. She doesn't know who reported her, has received no formal indictment and therefore cannot access the files—a Kafkaesque situation that she herself describes this way: She sits like Josef K. in Kafka's "The Trial," arrested without knowing why.

Asymmetrical Prosecution

Belschunke's central argument is asymmetry: The Muslim activists who produced videos about her for months and urged followers to report her are not registered or prosecuted. Their insults and calls for reports apparently do not fall under "politically motivated crime." Belschunke, meanwhile, who defended herself against this campaign, is classified as a right-wing extremist. She points out that there is no support from NGOs dealing with hate and incitement—even though she herself is a victim of aggressive online campaigns.

Crisis of Trust in Rule of Law

Belschunke emphasizes that she experienced a three-and-a-half-year preliminary investigation in another case, in which experts unanimously said it was not incitement to hatred—the proceedings were initiated anyway. This has shown her that judicial error in Germany has become the norm. She is increasingly asking herself whether it is safe to write critically in this country—especially on topics such as migration and Islam. Her mother, over 70 years old, sleeps poorly because she worries about her daughter. Friends feel helpless.

Core Arguments

  • Criminalization without verdict: Police authorities classify citizens as "right-wing extremist" without a conviction—a preventive system that equates suspicion with guilt.

  • Selective prosecution: Online attacks by activists with Islamist backgrounds are ignored; counter-speech is prosecuted as incitement to hatred.

  • Eroding rule of law: Authorities (public prosecutors like Göttingen, police departments like Bremen) use vague paragraphs (incitement to hatred) as weapons against political opponents—a pattern that has evolved from individual cases to systemic practice.

  • Chilling effect: Journalists and ordinary citizens become uncertain when formulating criticism; many delete posts even though they are legally defensible, out of fear of prosecution.

  • Political naivety: Established parties (CDU under Friedrich Merz) believe they can combat the AfD through opinion bans—but achieve the opposite: more reactance, more protest voters.

Further Developments

  • Norbert Bolz case: The philosopher was also persecuted; his main suffering was not his own persecution, but the burden on family and close associates.
  • Göttingen Public Prosecutor's Office: A "hate and incitement" task force under CDU Justice Minister has systematically investigated critics.
  • Comparison to Angela Merkel: Merkel never pursued criminal charges against critics who attacked or insulted her—a sign of state sovereignty that seems to be lost today.

Critical Questions

1. Evidence & Data Quality On what legal basis is a person classified as "PMK-Right" if (a) no charges have yet been filed, (b) the report comes from a third party, not from the victim themselves, and (c) Belschunke received no formal notification of the reason? What controls and reviews of these entries exist?

2. Conflicts of Interest & Asymmetry Why are online campaigns by Islamist influencers (videos over months, calls for reports) not classified as "politically motivated crime – Left/Islamist," while counter-speech is considered right-wing extremism? Who decides on these categorizations?

3. Causality & Alternatives Is the registration under "PMK-Right" the consequence of a report or the basis for a report? Could the system work in reverse (that the classification generates reports instead of documenting them)?

4. Feasibility & Chilling Effect What are the practical effects of PMK classification—at traffic stops, security checks, contract signings? What remedial mechanisms exist for misclassifications?

5. Comparison to Other Cases How widespread is this pattern (police authorities classify citizens without indictment)? Are there statistics on PMK entries and their subsequent review?

6. Rule of Law vs. Preventive State If politicians and authorities preventively register citizens as "criminal" without a court ruling—do we still have a rule of law or a preventive state?

7. Political Consequences Does Belschunke believe that selective persecution of liberal/conservative critics (not left-wing critics) causes or merely accelerates the AfD rise? What alternative political responses could there have been?

8. Trust Question Does Belschunke still have confidence in German courts and authorities? Would she be willing to fight her case in court, or would she—like Norbert Bolz—accept a settlement to save energy?

Source Directory

Primary Source: Sphinx Podcast – Episode with Anna Belschunke (Date: 28.02.2026) https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/6270efa390efae00152faf31/e/69a1a52b1432e40603372972/media.mp3

Verification Status: ✓ Transcript submitted, 28.02.2026

This text was created with the support of an AI model. Editorial responsibility: clarus.news | Fact-checking: 28.02.2026