Chinese Tourists Arrested for Nazi Salutes in Berlin

Cops spotted them outside the Reichstag
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 7, 2017 6:03 AM CDT
Chinese Tourists Arrested for Nazi Salutes in Berlin
Smoke is seen over the Reichstag in Berlin after a fireworks display.   (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Western tourists aren't the only ones who occasionally act like idiots in other countries: Two Chinese tourists were arrested in Berlin on Saturday after a police patrol spotted them taking pictures of each other giving the Hitler salute outside the Reichstag, the Telegraph reports. The two men, aged 36 and 49, were detained under a post-1945 law that bans the "flags, insignia, uniforms, slogans, and forms of greeting" of "unconstitutional organizations," like the Nazis, NPR reports. The maximum penalty is three years in prison.

The law is generally used to prosecute far-right groups and it's not clear whether the Chinese visitors would have been aware of it, reports the New York Times. Authorities in Berlin say the men were questioned at a local police station and released after paying bail of around $589 each. A police spokeswoman says it's not clear whether the two men are still in Germany. She says they are allowed to leave the country while the incident is being investigated and even if they are fined, the bail money will probably cover it. (This teenage tourist from China caused outrage with graffiti on an ancient Egyptian temple.)

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