Germany's PEGIDA founder goes on trial for fueling hatred against refugees

The founder of German far-right anti-Islam PEGIDA movement has gone on trial on charges of inciting racial hatred and fueling hate speech against refugees on social media.

On Tuesday, PEGIDA's founder Lutz Bachmann appeared in court in the eastern city of Dresden, which is the birthplace of the xenophobic group.

The 43-year-old extremist leader is facing trial for having branded refugees as "cattle," "scumbags" and "filth" in Facebook posts. 

PEGIDA's leader was first charged with provoking hatred last October after he posted a series of controversial messages on the Facebook page of PEGIDA.

Judicial sources say Bachmann’s comments “disrupted public order” and constituted an “attack on (the refugees’) dignity.”

If found guilty, Bachmann could face between three months and five years in prison.

He served time in jail in 1998 when he was sentenced to nearly four years for several burglaries.

PEGIDA, a German acronym that stands for the “Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West,” has capitalized on the ongoing flow of asylum seekers into Europe to warn about the future of the continent.

PEGIDA was caught in a series of scandals, prompting mass resignation among its leaders and the movement's disappearance from the German political scene over the past years.

Bachmann’s overtly racist comments and a series of photos in which he posed as Adolf Hitler were among the reasons why interest in the far-right movement had waned.

However, it has made a comeback amid the massive refugee influx faced by Europe.

Pegida's anti-refugee demonstrations have often been met by counter protests.

The developments come as German police have recorded hundreds of attacks and other criminal offences on refugee shelters so far this year.  

Figures show that the incidents of violence against refugees and asylum seekers reached 1,029 last year, compared with 199 in 2014 and 69 in 2013.

Germany has witnessed multiple similar attacks on residences for refugees as the country took in more than one million asylum seekers in 2015. 

However, the flow of asylum seekers into Germany has slowed to a trickle in recent weeks after Balkan nations shut their borders in order to prevent the refugee influx into Europe. 

Germany opened its borders to the refugees last summer with a welcoming mood, but it gradually shifted away from the policy and now Chancellor Angela Merkel stresses that the number of refugees arriving in the country needs to be reduced.

Europe is facing an unprecedented influx of refugees who are fleeing conflict-ridden zones in Africa and the Middle East, particularly Syria. 

Many blame major European powers for the unprecedented exodus, saying their policies have led to a surge in terrorism and war in those regions, forcing more people to flee their homes.  

The European Union and Turkey reached a deal in March, under which refugees arriving in Greece would be sent back to Turkey if they do not apply for asylum or if their claim is rejected.

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