Reports about proximity to Russia
AfD leadership sticks with Bystron
The AfD leaders Alice Weidel (l) and Tino Chrupalla. photo
© Jonathan Penschek/dpa
After reports of a Russian disinformation campaign, AfD MP Petr Bystron explains himself to the party leadership. She initially stands behind him and receives criticism.
After reports of a Russian disinformation campaign, the AfD leadership is sticking by its European election candidate until further notice Petr Bystron. “At this point in time, the federal executive board must assume that Mr. Bystron is innocent,” said party leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla in a brief joint statement after deliberations by the AfD federal executive board.
The member of the Bundestag was involved in the deliberations after he had already submitted a written statement to the party leadership. Representatives of other parties accused the AfD of lacking the will to educate and criticized it as a stooge of Russia.
“Vegeant contradiction” against allegations
Bystron explained to the board about the allegations against him. “He vehemently contradicted these and will put all statements made in writing,” said Weidel and Chrupalla’s statement. The party leadership is committed to comprehensive clarification and demands that everyone who claims to have clues and evidence to include this in the investigation.
The background is media reports about the pro-Russian internet platform “Voice of Europe” (VoE), which was placed on the national sanctions list by the Czech cabinet. Among other things, interviews with Bystron and his party colleague Maximilian Krah appeared on the portal. The Czech newspaper “Denik N” had reported that Bystron may also have accepted money. His name was said to have been mentioned at a meeting of the Czech cabinet, the newspaper reported, citing several ministers. An unnamed government member said with reference to Bystron, citing the domestic intelligence service BIS: “You can provide audio evidence of the handover of money.”
In response to a dpa request, the secret service said it would not make any audio recordings public. “The general rule is that this would be intelligence material that we do not publish,” said a spokesman in Prague.
AfD demands release of possible recordings
Bystron had stated in writing to the party leadership: “At no time have I received any monetary payments or cryptocurrencies from any employee of VoE (or any Russian).” He told the newspapers of the Funke media group: “I did not accept any money to represent pro-Russian positions.” According to his own statements, he also assured the AfD board that he had not accepted any money. When asked, Bystron told the dpa that the board had agreed to his demand for the release of suspected Czech secret service recordings. It was agreed to find out about further legal steps. This information was essentially confirmed by participants. The federal executive board has supported Bystron.
“I didn’t expect anything else. We will not allow our election campaign to be dictated by manipulative accusations from foreign secret services,” said the MP himself. The government of Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala must now explain whether the publication was made due to pressure from abroad and what role it played NATO and the German government played a role in this.
Bystron also announced that its lawyers in Munich would request access to the files. The public prosecutor’s office there had set up a so-called preliminary investigation, justifying this with “current reporting”, but also emphasizing that this did not indicate initial suspicion. Preliminary investigations are not regulated by law and are often carried out routinely.
Chrupalla had already publicly supported Bystron on Sunday. There is currently no evidence or proof of culpable behavior, he told the ARD capital studio. “I currently see no reason to advise him against any campaign appearances.” Bystron is in second place on the AfD’s list of candidates for the European elections on June 9th, behind Maximilian Krah. Krah had advised his party colleague to refrain from appearing in the European election campaign for the time being “until the allegations in question have been clarified.”
SPD, Greens and CSU: AfD is an extended arm of Russia
Other parties took the developments as an opportunity to once again fundamentally criticize the AfD. It’s not just about Bystron the person, but about “the AfD system,” said Green Party leader Ricarda Lang in Berlin. This is the extended arm of the Kremlin in Germany and an increasing risk to national security. CSU General Secretary Martin Huber made a similar statement and spoke of a danger to democracy. “The AfD is Putin’s extended arm,” he said. She doesn’t care about what’s best for Germany, she wants to lead the country away from the Western-democratic community of values.
SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert accused the AfD of lacking the will to provide information. While they otherwise like to sing the praises of political transparency, a fortress is traditionally erected when allegations are made against their own staff, he said. “Both Maximilian Krah and Petr Bystron should swear under oath that they neither received any money nor received any other material benefits for pro-Russian political positions,” demanded Kühnert. There has long been a well-founded suspicion that the AfD largely acts as an extension of Putin in Germany.