Last but not least: Advertising expert charged with "mosque baba"
The public prosecutor's office in Graz has brought charges of incitement to hatred against the Swiss advertising expert Alexander Segert and the FPÖ leader in Styria, Gerhard Kurzmann. The reason for the charge has to do with the online game "Moschee baba".
The aim of the anti-minaret game entitled "Moschee baba" is to click away mosques, minarets and muezzins in order to collect points. The Styrian FPÖ developed the game together with Segert for the 2010 election campaign, triggering a wave of outrage in Austria, as the SDA writes in a press release. According to Segert himself, 100,000 people took part in the game within 48 hours.
The predecessor of "Moschee baba" is called "Minarett-Attack". This internet game was also created by Segert and was used in the campaign for a ban on minarets in Switzerland. The game served as a model for the Styrian version.
The Graz public prosecutor's office now wants to prevent Segert from being given a free hand. After all, the penalty for incitement to hatred is up to two years imprisonment. As Hansjörg Bacher, spokesman for the public prosecutor's office, confirmed an Austrian media report on Wednesday, the Ministry of Justice has given the go-ahead for the prosecution. The public prosecutor's office also requested that a fine be imposed on the FPÖ Styria and the advertising agency. The amount of this fine will depend on the economic circumstances and will serve to skim off the financial advantage gained.
