Bundestag debates AfD contacts with Russia and China

According to Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, Germany is repeatedly the target of attempted attacks from Russia and other dictatorships. “Germany was and is the target of espionage and sabotage, disinformation and propaganda,” said the SPD politician during a debate about the AfD’s connections to China and Russia. “For the first time we are facing the danger of Russian explosive attacks in order to stop our support for Ukraine,” Faeser continued. Germany has therefore already expelled numerous Russian spies. “We will not be intimidated.”

In the afternoon, the Bundestag dealt with the latest allegations against an employee of AfD MEP Maximilian Krah regarding alleged spying for China. The debate also included allegations of possible influence from Russia.

At the request of the traffic light coalition made up of the SPD, the Greens and the FDP, Parliament is holding a current hour entitled “Threat to our democracy – Russia, China and the role of the AfD”. The reason is the recent revelations on this topic.

On Monday, the Dresden police arrested an employee of the AfD’s top candidate for the European elections, Krah, on charges of spying for China. According to the Federal Prosecutor General, the German citizen Jian G. is accused of acting as an agent for a foreign secret service in a particularly serious case.

On Wednesday it was also announced that the Dresden Public Prosecutor’s Office had initiated two preliminary investigations against Krah himself. As an authority spokesman said in response to a request from MDR AKTUELL, the first case concerns alleged payments to Krah from pro-Russian sources, the second concerns alleged Chinese payments. The background was media reports that Krah was said to have been questioned by the US Federal Police FBI in 2023 about a suspicious chat message from a pro-Russian activist from 2020.

Meanwhile, Krah declared that he would remain the AfD’s leading candidate for the European elections. He said after a conversation with the AfD leadership that he had not personally committed any wrongdoing. As the top candidate, Krah couldn’t be replaced anyway. The AfD’s list of candidates was submitted on time and can no longer be changed. This would only be possible if a candidate died or lost his or her right to stand as a candidate. As the office of the Federal Returning Officer announced, an approved applicant cannot simply withdraw from his or her candidacy before the election.

Before Krah, the number two on the AfD list for the European elections, Petr Bystron, had already been exposed to media allegations. According to a Czech media report, he allegedly received money from a pro-Russian network. Interviews by Bystron and Krah appeared on the “Voice of Europe” internet platform, which was classified as pro-Russian and which put the Czech Republic on the national sanctions list at the end of March. The Czech newspaper Denik N later reported that Bystron may have also accepted money. The 51-year-old rejected this several times. Krah also denied having accepted money from the “Voice of Europe” environment.

Bystron and Krah’s names also appear in a planned EU Parliament resolution “on new allegations of Russian interference in the European Parliament, in the upcoming EU elections and the impact on the European Union.” The draft resolution, which is available to MDR, expresses concern about Krah’s questioning by the FBI about possible payments from pro-Russian activists in December. The arrest of Krah assistant Jian G. on suspicion of spying for China is described as extremely worrying. The authors of the draft speak of a pattern of collaboration with malicious actors that would undermine democratic values ​​and processes. The name Petr Bystron appears in the draft in connection with media reports that he is said to have received money for the dissemination of Russian propaganda. Bystron itself has denied these allegations several times. The resolution is expected to be passed on Thursday.