The judiciary committee in the Thuringian state parliament has again lifted the immunity of the controversial AfD parliamentary group leader Björn Höcke. The state parliament announced this on Friday. Accordingly, it is about an election campaign speech by Höckes 2021 in Merseburg (Saxony-Anhalt), which he is said to have ended with the words “Everything for Germany”.
This sentence was the motto of the SA during the National Socialist era. According to his own statements, the Saxony-Anhalt Green leader Sebastian Striegel filed a criminal complaint against Höcke on June 8, 2021 – for using license plates of unconstitutional organizations.
The public prosecutor’s office in Halle is investigating Höcke
Höcke’s immunity, who is also the Thuringian AfD state party leader, had already been lifted in 2021 due to the investigation into the case in order to clear the way for investigations. Now the Judiciary Committee has decided on an extended immunity waiver, after which Höcke can be charged.
The public prosecutor’s office in Halle confirmed that they have now turned to the state parliament again. However, a spokesman left open whether an indictment is actually intended. From circles in the state parliamentary groups, it was said that the public prosecutor wanted to bring charges.
Criticism from the Thuringian AfD
The Thuringian AfD MP René Aust criticized the legal action against Höcke. “Anyone who deliberately dissects a final formula based on the stylistic device of repetition in order to misinterpret a small part of it as a reference to a Nazi organization outside of any context of content is abusing criminal law to intimidate opposition politicians,” Aust said in a statement distributed by the Thuringian AfD message quoted. It is hoped that the judges responsible will “clearly reject this political abuse of criminal law”.
Höcke’s immunity had been lifted several times in the past – among other things because of investigations into allegations of incitement to hatred.