2024-04-06 08:56:02
Because of its uncritical stance towards Russia, the AfD often has to answer questions in the Bundestag and the European Parliament. Now the question arises: Is there possibly money involved?
In the affair surrounding a pro-Russian disinformation campaign, AfD member of the Bundestag Petr Bystron denied having received payments from the Internet platform “Voice of Europe” (VoE) or from Russian citizens. “At no time did I receive any money payments or cryptocurrencies from a VoE employee (or any Russian),” he wrote in a statement to the party leadership, which was available to the German Press Agency. However, a Ukrainian citizen also plays a role in the pro-Russian network.
The Czech newspaper “Denik N” had previously reported that Bystron was suspected of having been in contact with the pro-Russian Internet platform “Voice of Europe”, which the Prague cabinet had recently placed on the national sanctions list. He may also have accepted money. Bystron’s name was said to have been mentioned at the cabinet meeting, the newspaper reported, citing several ministers. An unnamed government member said, citing the domestic secret service BIS, with reference to Bystron: “You can provide audio evidence of the handover of money.”
Czech secret service is keeping a low profile
For its part, the Czech domestic secret service BIS does not plan to release any audio recordings of the case to the public for the time being. “The general rule is that this would be intelligence material that we do not publish,” said a spokesman in Prague when asked.
On Wednesday, AfD chairmen Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla requested a written statement from Bystron by today at the latest. According to a party spokesman, this was received at midday. He said the party and parliamentary group executive committees would discuss this in the coming days. As things stand, Weidel and Chrupalla want to speak to Bystron on Monday.
The Czech BIS spokesman said it was not customary for secret services to make such material available to other states. Apart from that, colleagues from a German intelligence service received “comparatively extensive information” about the case. “It is then up to them or the state organs how they appear to the public.” He did not want to provide further details because, according to him, it is an active case that several European secret services are working on. Strict transmission regulations also apply in Germany. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution could not easily pass on a recording of a surveillance measure approved by the G10 Commission of the Bundestag.
The Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office has meanwhile launched a so-called preliminary investigation, as it announced on Thursday when asked. The prosecution emphasized that this did not indicate initial suspicion. Preliminary investigations are not regulated by law and are often carried out routinely; in this case, the public prosecutor justified the examination with “current reporting”.
Bystron sees itself as a victim of a “globalist campaign”
Bystron, who is running for second place on the AfD list in the European elections on June 9th, wrote of a “defamation campaign against politicians from six European parties – including me.” This “globalist campaign” attempts to prevent a strong performance by right-wing populist parties in Europe and the formation of a strong group in the European Parliament. “I have already contacted lawyers in both Germany and the Czech Republic to take action against this defamation.” Bystron was born in what was then Czechoslovakia. As a teenager he emigrated to Germany with his parents.
According to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the term “globalists” can describe representatives of a transnational or “neoliberal-global political, social and/or economic order”. A publication by the intelligence service continues: “At the same time, right-wing extremist and anti-Semitic circles of people use “globalists” as a synonym for a (Jewish) elite that operates secretly on a global scale and is supposed to control the fate of the world.”
Baerbock speaks of hybrid warfare
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock sees the affair in connection with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hybrid warfare. The approach is aimed at hollowing out and undermining democracies in Europe from within, said the Green politician on the sidelines of a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels.
The AfD’s leading candidate in the European elections, Maximilian Krah, told “Welt” before receiving Bystron’s statement: “Petr Bystron should not make any election campaign appearances until the allegations in the room have been clarified.” Some in the party were surprised at this suggestion. When asked, Krah added that he had advised Bystron to “concentrate on clarification and to avoid public appearances.”