The leader of the Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident (PEGIDA) street protest movement is facing prosecution for wearing a t-shirt reading, “Rapefugees not welcome” – the slogan of the 4000-strong march in Cologne this weekend.

Following the news of the mass migrant rape scandal that has gripped Europe, Lutz Bachmann and his PEGIDA movement organised the “Rapefugees Not Welcome” protest this Saturday in Cologne, stressing the importance of Western culture and the freedom and protection of women.

But while the political establishment took four days to start getting to the bottom of the New Year’s Eve sexual assault orgy, they have wasted no time pursuing Mr. Bachmann for wearing a t-shirt that opposes rape by migrants.

The Leipziger Volkszeitung newspaper has reported that Mr. Bachmann – who is no stranger to controversy – is being pursued by Green Party politician and lawyer Jurgen Kasek, who has called the t-shirt “sedition”.

Mr. Kasek, speaking after he saw a picture of Mr. Bachmann wearing the t-shirt on Facebook (above) said: “That’s not a satire. That is sedition “, and has filed a complaint with Dresden’s prosecutor.

The t-shirt has the same motif as the banners carried at yesterday’s PEGIDA march – a woman pursued by armed men. Mr. Kasek has argued: “That’s just an excuse to incite hatred.”

Mr. Bachmann has been the target of a widespread delegitimisation effort ever since PEGIDA came to the fore in 2014. He was forced to resign the group’s leadership after pictures of him dressed as Adolf Hitler were disseminated online. He was reinstated after it became clear to PEGIDA’s leadership that the pictures had be doctored.

Up to 4000 people demonstrated with PEGIDA in Cologne yesterday. The street movement has strict rules about behaviour, but protest was derailed by some “HOGESA” (Hooligans Against Sharia) members who became aggressive and unwieldy, forcing the police to deploy water cannon on the streets to control the situation.