2024-03-29 13:34:06
CTK
Updated 20 minutes ago
Federal Member of Parliament for the German political party Alternative for Germany (AfD) Petr Bystroň will legally challenge the claim of the Czech newspaper Deník N that he received benefits from an influential Russian organization.
Bystroň, who is of Czech origin, said on Friday that the current case is revenge by the government of Prime Minister Petr Fiala for his speech at the anti-government demonstration in Prague the year before last. The newspaper N together with the German weekly Der Spiegel wrote on Thursday that, according to the Security Information Service (BIS), Bystroň was one of the politicians who received money from a pro-Russian organization.
“Violet’s government is the most hated government among the people since Klement Gottwald,” he added.
Bystroň referred to a speech from the anti-government demonstration on September 28, 2022 at Wenceslas Square in Prague, which was organized by Jiří Havel and Ladislav Vrábel. In a speech to the participants, Bystroň criticized Fiala for calling the protesters Russian cockroaches. Bystroň, on the other hand, called the protesters proud Czechs.
In a statement, Bystroň called the closure of the pro-Russian news website Voice of Europe a blatant attack on press freedom. “The slander campaign is intended to damage opposition politicians from several European countries and to silence critical journalists,” said the federal deputy.
According to Bystrona, ruling politicians are trying to suppress the strong preferences of opposition parties with the help of the secret services. “In the federal elections, it was the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), and in the current campaign before the EU elections, it is the Czech secret services,” he said. The BfV in Germany holds the function of civilian counterintelligence.
“The fact that this globalist campaign started in the Czech Republic is no coincidence. The government of Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala is one of the biggest supporters of the continuation of the war in Ukraine, and the Czech arms industry is one of those that benefit the most from the conflict worldwide,” noted Bystroň.
Bystroň rejected the claims made by Deník N and Der Spiegel. “I will take legal action in the Czech Republic both against the responsible author and against the platform itself,” added N.
Among other things, Bystroň gave interviews to the aforementioned Voice of Europe server, which has been on the Czech sanctions list since Wednesday. Politician and businessman Viktor Medvedchuk and politician Artyom Marchevskij are also on the list. According to the rationale, Medvedčuk secretly finances Voice of Europe remotely and instructs Marčevský, who effectively runs the company. According to the document, he uses Marčevský to finance cooperation with journalists and to covertly support selected individuals from among the candidates in the European Parliament elections.
Bystroň, who is a candidate for the European Parliament, comes from Moravia and emigrated to Germany with his parents in 1988. According to Deník N, he is known for his pro-Russian stance and also for his ties to like-minded Czech politicians. In 2021, he visited Medvedchuk in Kyiv while Ukrainian authorities were holding him under house arrest on charges of treason. According to the Hlídací pes server, he also questioned the German government as to whether it advocated for Medvedčuk’s release.
Deník N pointed out that Bystroň also participated in the Future of Europe conference in Prague, where SPD MP Jaroslav Foldyna and Trikolora chairwoman Zuzana Majerová were also present. Bystroň also participated in the Trikolora congress.