German lawmaker apologizes after racist slur on Twitter
Posted January 05, 2018 6:00 am
BERLIN (AP) - A lawmaker for the nationalist Alternative for Germany party is apologizing to the son of former tennis star Boris Becker following a racist outburst on Twitter.
Jens Maier claims the tweet that was directed at Noah Becker was posted by a member of his staff, who has since been disciplined.
A lawyer for Becker said Thursday the 23-year-old had filed a criminal complaint against Maier.
In an unusual step, the party on Friday released a copy of an email in which Maier said he regretted the "mishap," had issued a formal warning to the staffer and planned to apologize to Becker.
Maier, a judge from the eastern state of Saxony, is regarded as being on the far-right wing of the nationalist party.
FILE - In this Sept. 1, 2017 file photo, Noah Becker arrives for the show held by label Zalando at the Bread & Butter fashion festival in Berlin. The son of former tennis star Boris Becker is pressing charges against a German nationalist lawmaker who insulted him with a racist slur. Lawyer Christian-Oliver Moser told The Associated Press on Thursday Jan. 4, 2018 that he filed a complaint on behalf of Noah Becker against the âunbearable and racist remarksâ that came from the Twitter account of nationalist lawmaker Jens Maier. (Jens Kalaene/dpa via AP,file)
The Associated Press