Bavaria
Lawyer: Arrested AfD politician enjoys immunity
AfD politician Daniel Halemba, who was recently elected to the Bavarian state parliament and was wanted on an arrest warrant, has been arrested. (archive image) photo
© Peter Kneffel/dpa
The Bavarian state parliament is rocked by a scandal before its first session: AfD politician Daniel Halemba was arrested this morning. His lawyer turned to the Bavarian Constitutional Court.
The AfD politician who was wanted by an arrest warrant and was newly elected to the Bavarian state parliament Daniel Halemba has been arrested, according to a spokesman for the Würzburg public prosecutor’s office. The 22-year-old was caught in the Stuttgart area around 8 a.m. Halemba is being investigated for incitement to hatred and the use of symbols of anti-constitutional organizations. The initial suspicion was confirmed after the evaluation of evidence. Halemba is scheduled to be brought before a judge in Würzburg today, or tomorrow at the latest, who could order him to be remanded in custody.
On Friday, the AfD parliamentary group itself announced that there was an arrest warrant for one of its MPs. The public prosecutor then confirmed that it was Halemba. The politician, who lives in Würzburg, could not be found at the weekend.
Halemba’s lawyer: “He is an elected representative”
Halemba could not be reached for comment since the arrest warrant was issued. Seub’s lawyer has contacted the Bavarian Constitutional Court. Lawyer Dubravko Mandic has filed a so-called interim order, according to a court spokesman. He did not want to comment on the content; the respondents were the state government and the Ministry of Justice. It is still unclear when a decision will be made on the application.
The Constitutional Court can issue an interim order if this is urgently necessary to avert serious disadvantages, to prevent imminent violence or for another important reason.
Halemba’s lawyer Mandic told the German Press Agency: “He is an elected member of parliament and, in my opinion, he has a claim against the government and the Ministry of Justice to instruct their officials that they no longer execute the arrest warrant.” Halemba must be allowed to travel to and from the state parliament.
Investigation against other corporate entities
According to his own statements, 22-year-old Halemba has been a member of the “Brschenschaft Teutonia Prag zu Würzburg” since 2021, which was raided in September. According to the public prosecutor’s office, there was a suspicion that there could be objects with symbols of the National Socialist Party, NSDAP, as well as stickers and writings of a racist nature in the fraternity’s fraternity house. Almost all of the seized items have now been evaluated, said the authority spokesman. “The allegations have been confirmed for us.” The evaluation of data carriers is still ongoing.
In addition to Halemba, the public prosecutor’s office is investigating four other members of the Würzburg-based student association, including for incitement to hatred and the use of symbols of anti-constitutional organizations. The connection has not yet commented on the allegations when asked by the German Press Agency. Halemba had previously rejected all allegations made against him as false.
Members of parliament generally enjoy immunity. However, this only takes effect with today’s constituent meeting at 3 p.m. The 22-year-old Halemba is the youngest politician to be elected to the Bavarian state parliament.