The Munich Regional Court has acquitted Petr Bystron, a member of the European Parliament representing the Alternative for Germany (AfD), reversing a prior lower court ruling concerning the dissemination of a digital image collage.

慕尼黑區域法院已判決 Petr Bystron 無罪，他是代表「德國選擇黨」(AfD) 的歐洲議會議員，此舉推翻了先前下級法院關於傳播數位影像拼貼圖的裁決。

The judicial proceedings originated from a 2022 social media publication by Mr. Bystron, coinciding with the departure of the then-Ukrainian Ambassador, Andrij Melnyk. The content in question featured a collage of German political figures, including former Chancellor Angela Merkel and Bettina Wulff, accompanied by a caption referencing a farewell gesture. The prosecution contended that the imagery had been deliberately manipulated to simulate the prohibited 'Hitler salute,' thereby violating statutes regarding the use of insignia associated with unconstitutional organizations.

此司法程序源於 Bystron 先生於 2022 年在社交媒體發布的內容，適逢當時烏克蘭大使 Andrij Melnyk 離任。涉案內容包含一張德國政治人物的拼貼圖，包括前總理 Angela Merkel 和 Bettina Wulff，並附有提及告別手勢的文字。檢方主張該影像經過刻意操縱以模擬被禁止的「希特勒禮」，進而違反了關於使用與違憲組織相關標誌的法令。

Previously, the Munich District Court had concurred with the prosecution's assessment, imposing a financial penalty of 90 daily rates. This determination was subsequently challenged via appeals from both the defense, which sought total exoneration, and the prosecution, which sought an escalation of the fine. During the appellate process, the court's examination of the evidence revealed that the images had not been manipulated to create the prohibited gesture; specifically, it was noted that one image had been mirrored, resulting in the depiction of a raised left arm, which deviates from the legal definition of the banned salute.

此前，慕尼黑地方法院認同檢方的評估，處以 90 個日額的罰金。隨後，辯方（尋求完全無罪開脫）與檢方（尋求增加罰金）均提出了上訴。在上訴過程中，法院對證據的審查顯示，影像並未被操縱以製造該禁制手勢；具體而言，法院指出其中一張影像被鏡像翻轉，導致呈現的是舉起左臂，這與法律對禁制禮節的定義不符。

Mr. Bystron characterized the initial legal proceedings as an instrument of political discredit during the European election campaign, asserting that the interpretation of a benign wave as a prohibited symbol was logically flawed. While the presiding judge acknowledged the 'tasteless' nature of the publication, the court concluded that the evidentiary threshold for criminal liability had not been met.

Bystron 先生將最初的法律程序描述為歐洲選舉期間用於政治抹黑的工具，並堅稱將良性的揮手動作解讀為禁制符號在邏輯上是有缺陷的。儘管主審法官承認該發布內容具有「低俗」性質，但法院結論認為，尚未達到刑事責任的證據門檻。

Petr Bystron has been acquitted of all charges, although the court maintained a qualitative critique of the material's propriety.

Petr Bystron 已被宣告所有指控不成立，儘管法院仍對該素材的適切性維持質疑性批評。