Chief Censor bans livestream of antisemitic shooting in Halle, Germany

Thursday, 10 October 2019

Rescued parishioners of the Jewish community and police forces near the scene of a shooting that has left two people dead.

A video capturing an antisemitic shooting in Germany has been banned by the Chief Censor.

Two people were killed in the attack in the eastern German city of Halle on Wednesday. The shooter livestreamed the shooting, in which he attempted to force his way inside a synagogue, on the video platform Twitch.

Chief Censor David Shanks on Thursday classified the 35 minute video, which is circulating on the internet, as objectionable.

Shanks made a similar ruling after the Christchurch terror attack on March 15, which is thought to have directly inspired the attack in Germany.

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Chief censor David Shanks has banned a 35 minute video of an antisemitic shooting in Germany. (file photo)

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As with the livestream of the Christchurch shooting, in which 51 were killed, the accused gunman in Germany broadcast from a helmet-mounted video.

It shows him shooting dead two people, one outside the synagogue and another inside a kebab shop.

'It appears on the face of it to be a racially motivated terrorist attack depicting cold blooded murder of innocent people,' Shanks said in a statement.

'It is clearly promotional and crosses the line in terms of New Zealand law as it depicts extreme violence and terrorist atrocities.'

Shanks would urgently finalise a report on the decision. He used a 'call-in' power to fast-track the process and immediately ban the video.

The ruling makes it illegal for someone in New Zealand to view, possess, or distribute the video.

Shanks encouraged anyone who saw the video to immediately report it to the host website, and report any objectionable material to the Department of Internal Affairs.