AfD member of the state parliament Daniel Halemba was arrested on Monday morning. Among other things, it concerns the accusation of sedition. But who is the 22-year-old? The answers to the most important questions about the case at a glance.
Who is Daniel Halemba?
Daniel Halemba, 22 years old, has lived in Würzburg since 2021, where he was elected district chairman of the AfD. As the youngest MP ever, Halemba entered the new Bavarian state parliament for the AfD in the state elections on October 8th in the Haßberge/Rhön-Grabfeld constituency.
Halemba is currently studying law at the Fernuni Hagen and is a member of the controversial fraternity “Teutonia Prague” in Würzburg, which was founded in September there was a raid.
What is Halemba accused of?
The public prosecutor’s office is investigating several members of the fraternity – including for incitement to hatred and the use of symbols of anti-constitutional organizations. Halemba had been wanted on an arrest warrant since Friday and was arrested on Monday morning around 8 a.m. in the Stuttgart area, in Kirchheim unter Teck.
Halembas Lawyer Dubravko Mandić announced on Saturday that there was no truth to “all the allegations against the members of Prague Teutonia”.he had lodged a complaint against the arrest warrant.
After his client’s arrest on Monday morning, Mandić requested the Bavarian Constitutional Court to withdraw the arrest warrant against Halemba in an urgent application. Halemba must be allowed to travel to and from the state parliament.
What does this mean for the first session of the state parliament?
If Daniel Halemba is absent from the constitutive session in the state parliament, this will initially have no effect on his status as a representative and parliamentary group member. The AfD’s parliamentary group size also remains unchanged at 32 members.
If Halemba loses or has to resign his mandate due to a later criminal conviction, an AfD candidate would take his place.
AfD parliamentary group leader Katrin Ebner-Steiner demanded on Sunday that Halemba’s participation in the meeting must be made possible. The AfD parliamentary group has the right to “gather in full group strength with all members”.
What role does the AfD play in the allegations against Halemba?
The AfD faction doubts the legality of the public prosecutor’s investigation. Parliamentary group leader Ebner-Steiner speaks of “state repression” in a video statement. With a “contrived reason for detention” the rights of the opposition are being significantly encroached on “on flimsy reasons”.
In a video prepared before his arrest, Daniel Halemba calls the measures against him “another sad climax in the CSU’s hunt for the democratic opposition.” His lawyer released the recording at his request after the arrest warrant was executed.
How do the other parties react?
CSU parliamentary group leader Klaus Holetschek emphasized that arrest warrants would be issued by independent judges. He doesn’t understand “why the AfD is now constructing something, taking on the role of victim, questioning the rule of law and ultimately our free-democratic basic order.” The process has nothing to do with the constituent session of the state parliament – courts would decide based on necessity. The leader of the Free Voters faction, Florian Streibl, said he was relieved that Halemba could be arrested before the meeting. “A functioning constitutional state is showing its teeth here,” said Streibl.
According to the leader of the Green Party, Katharina Schulze, the fact that Halemba did not hand himself in to the investigating authorities shows what makes the AfD tick: “This is a riot and chaos force that is partly right-wing extremist.” There are people in the party who don’t have both feet on the free democratic basic order, said Schulze. For the head of the SPD parliamentary group, Florian von Brunn, Halemba’s arrest is just the beginning: “I fear it will get even worse.” “A lot of radical AfDers” were elected to the state parliament. Von Brunn also emphasized that an independent judge had signed the arrest warrant against Halemba.