AfD MP stripped of immunity due to criminal prosecution

Petr Bystron, a candidate from the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) for elections to the European Parliament, is suspected of bribery and money laundering. The Munich Prosecutor General’s Office has launched an investigation into the politician in connection with the scandal surrounding the Voice of Europe platform.

Searches were carried out at the deputy’s Berlin office, as well as at his residence in Munich, Deggendorf, Erding and Mallorca. 11 prosecutors and about 70 police officers from the Criminal Investigation Office of the Federal State of Bavaria took part in the searches. Documents and electronic media were confiscated, which may contain “both aggravating and exculpatory evidence.”

Bystron is in second place on the list of AfD candidates for the European Parliament elections. Previously, the Bundestag stripped Bystron of his parliamentary immunity. Factions of all parties, except for the Alternative for Germany, voted in favor. According to ZDF television, the Parliamentary Immunity Committee was informed of the planned searches this morning.

Suspicions regarding Bystron were previously raised by Czech intelligence services as part of an investigation into possible Russian influence on politicians in the EU. The Czech newspaper Denik N, citing a source in intelligence circles, reported that Bystron received money from pro-Russian organizations. It was about several hundred thousand euros. Spiegel also wrote about possible payments through the pro-Russian platform Voice of Europe, which was used as a tool to influence candidates for elections to the European Parliament. At the end of March, the Czech authorities added the company that owns this media outlet to the sanctions list. A ban on this platform in Europe is also being discussed.

The Czech intelligence service BIS allegedly listened to Bystron’s conversation with businessman Artem Marchevsky, who is called the right hand of the former Ukrainian opposition politician and businessman now living in Russia, Viktor Medvedchuk. During their meeting, which took place in Prague, Bystron was given 20 thousand euros. Bystron denies the charges brought against him. So far, according to the prosecutor’s office, the presumption of innocence applies.

Through the Voice of Europe platform, Bystron allegedly disseminated Russian propaganda. The media was founded in the Czech Republic in 2023. According to the Czech intelligence services, behind him is Medvedchuk, against whom charges of high treason have been brought in Ukraine. Bystron maintained contact with Medvedchuk for several years.

A preliminary investigation has also been launched by the Dresden Prosecutor General’s Office against the AfD’s main candidate for the European Parliament elections, Maximilian Kra. Kra is suspected of receiving money from Russia and China. He was also associated with the Voice of Europe platform. In addition, a long-time Kra employee was arrested on suspicion of spying for China.

The investigations, according to German commentators, could greatly harm the image of the AfD on the eve of the elections to the European Parliament and before the autumn elections to the Landtags of the three East German federal states. According to preliminary ratings, this party has already lost about six percent of the votes of potential voters.

The day before, a court in the city of Hall found the head of the AfD faction in the Thuringian state parliament, Björn Höcke, guilty of “using symbols of anti-constitutional organizations.” The politician used Nazi slogans at one of the events, which were accepted in the SA unit. In addition, the prosecutor’s office of the city of Gera began a preliminary investigation against Höcke on suspicion of “pitting one people against another.” It is possible that he may also be deprived of parliamentary immunity. Höcke is the AfD’s main candidate in the Thuringian elections.

According to investigation by Spiegel, Bystron, Kra and Höcke maintained ties with Russia for a long time. At an event in Gera in October 2022, Höcke quoted verbatim from a manifesto that was allegedly written on the instructions of senior Kremlin official Sergei Kiriyenko. The document describes the allegedly catastrophic situation in Germany and calls for a change in the existing democratic system.