As of: April 4, 2024, 9:49 a.m
By: Kilian Beck
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Press
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The AfD demands an explanation from Petr Bystron. The Czech intelligence service wants evidence that Bystron accepted money from Russia.
Update from April 4, 2024, 9:15 a.m.:
The clock is ticking for Petr Bystron. The Bundestag member and EU election candidate must explain himself to the AfD federal leadership around Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla by Thursday afternoon at 2 p.m. On Wednesday (April 3) it was announced that the Czech intelligence service is said to be in possession of an audio recording that proves that Bystron was accepting money from Russia. Accordingly, it flowed through the network of the propaganda medium “Voice of Europe”. Bystron categorically denied this: These were “unproven accusations and claims,” he told the
German Press Agency
.
Bystron bribery scandal: AfD gives the MP an ultimatum
First report from April 3, 2024:
Berlin - The AfD parliamentary group leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla called on their Bundestag member Petr Bystron to explain the bribery allegations made against him. “If necessary,” the group’s board will also look into the matter. This was confirmed by a spokesman for the Bundestag faction at the request of
fr.de
from
IPPEN.MEDIA
.
Is in second place on the AfD's list of candidates for the European elections: Petr Bystron. © Carsten Koall/dpa
On Tuesday (April 2), the Prague newspaper
Deník N
reported that the head of the Czech intelligence service reported in a secret cabinet meeting recordings that his agency could use to prove that Bystron had received money from a pro-Russian influence network. The report is based on five anonymous cabinet members.
AfD MP Bystron suspects “slander” – no response to questions
Bystron did not respond to a query about the report. The German-Czech politician was state chairman of the AfD in Bavaria from 2015 to 2017. He is running for the European elections in second place on the list behind Maximilian Krah. At the end of March, Der
Spiegel
and
Deník N
reported
, citing Czech intelligence circles, that Bystron may have received money through the pro-Russian propaganda medium “Voice of Europe”.
The politician replied to
Spiegel
at the time that he assumed it was “defamation”. EU top candidate Krah, who also gave interviews to the medium, emphasized that he had “never accepted money or benefits of value”.
Internal email: AfD leadership around Weidel demands a statement from Bystron
AfD leader Weidel had her spokesman announce to the
Politico
portal that she would seek talks with both men after her Easter vacation. The
editorial network Germany
quoted an email from the AfD federal office to Bystron that he should comment on the allegations within the party by “Thursday, 2 p.m.”. This email is now
also
available to the
world
and
ZDF .
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A spokesman for the Bundestag faction indicated
to
fr.de
that Bystron might have to explain himself to the parliamentary group executive board next week. The spokesman left an explicit FR question about possible deadlines or review procedures within the group unanswered. There is also a question as to how long the faction leadership has known about the allegations against Bystron.
Bystron shot with racists in South Africa and showed “deep respect” for identities
The
Süddeutsche Zeitung
already analyzed in 2016 that Bystron had significantly moved the Bavarian AfD to the right. In 2018, as foreign policy spokesman for the AfD, he visited a South African association that was calling for a “race war”. Bystron took part in shooting training. This was reported by the
SWR
magazine “Report Mainz”. Bystron said: The association was part of “civil society” and “of course” he took part in the shooting training. In 2017 he wrote on a right-wing extremist portal that the AfD must be a “protective shield” for the right-wing extremist “Identitarian Movement” (IB).
Its long-time spokesman and leader, the Austrian right-wing extremist Martin Sellner, recently published a book outlining how millions of people could be driven out of Germany. Bystron was temporarily observed by the Bavarian Office for the Protection of the Constitution because of his “expression of sympathy” out of “deep respect” for the IB. According to the authorities, the observation ended because he fell outside their jurisdiction when he entered the Bundestag.
(kb)