In the context of the coverage of the legislative elections on 8 October, the Alternative Democratic Reform Party (adr) had filed a complaint against RTL Radio Luxembourg, which has now been dismissed.
On 18 September, the adr had lodged a complaint with the Luxembourg Independent Broadcasting Authority (ALIA) against RTL Radio Luxembourg regarding a report that aired during the morning programme and was simultaneously published on the RTL.lu website. The adr alleged that the report contained defamatory elements or elements inciting hatred.
The report in question discussed the links between the adr and the French "Civitas," a fundamentalist Catholic movement also involved in extreme right-wing politics under the same name. In August, the French government initiated proceedings to ban Civitas, accusing the movement of seeking to undermine the French Republic. Among other things, Civitas has been critical of human rights, asserting that they are being misused to erode Christian civilisation.
The news of the potential ban on Civitas in France prompted the contested article. It highlighted the presence of the president of Civitas at an adr conference earlier in the year, raising questions about whether the adr had right-wing extremist affiliations.
In its decision dated 25 September, ALIA stated that the report provided a platform for a historian, a political scientist, auxiliary bishop Leo Wagener, and adr MP Fernand Kartheiser to express their views on the matter. After considering the report in its entirety, encompassing both the responses captured and the information presented, ALIA concluded that it did not constitute incitement to hatred or defamation. Consequently, the complaint was deemed inadmissible and dismissed.
Following the release of RTL's report, public radio station 100,7 reported on 29 September about a new video from the conference where anti-Semitic conspiracy theories were spread during a speech. The adr did not respond to RTL.lu's request for comment.
On Wednesday morning, it was announced that Civitas in France had been definitively dissolved.
