German magazine editor calls himself Putin supporter

Jürgen Elsaesser, editor-in-chief of German Compact Magazine, called himself a Putin supporter at the Alternative for Germany Party congress in Magdeburg.

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org by User:Mattes, PDM

According to DPA agency, the participants of the congress greeted Elsaesser's speech with applause.

During his speech, Elsaesser criticized the head of the German Interior Ministry, Nancy Faeser, and called German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius a "war criminal."

The head of the German Interior Ministry banned Compact Magazine, published by Elsaesser, in July after the publication of an interview with Maria Zakharova, an official spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry. The German police then searched offices of the publication and the homes of its senior staff.