European parliament lifts immunity of far‑right MEP amid probe
A far-right AfD politician is facing serious allegations, but he was shielded by parliamentary immunity. Now, the European Parliament has revoked this protection.
The European Parliament has lifted the immunity of MEP Petr Bystron from the German far-right AfD party. The majority in Strasbourg agreed to the request made in August of the previous year by the General Prosecutor's Office in Munich.
Prohibited gesture
According to parliamentary documents, the investigation centres on a post published by Bystron in 2022, which resembled a Nazi salute. The AfD politician shared a photomontage on his profile on X depicting various politicians saluting.
Bystron is accused of disseminating or publicly using symbols of unconstitutional and terrorist organisations. Investigators believe that the politician at least tacitly accepted that an objective platform user would get the impression from the photomontage that the depicted position was a Nazi gesture, according to a statement from the European Parliament.
Due to the ongoing investigations, the Bundestag, of which Bystron was a member at the time, revoked his immunity back in May 2024. Since the AfD politician is now an MEP, the criminal proceedings against him were temporarily suspended as the European Parliament also had to lift his immunity. In August 2024, the General Prosecutor's Office in Munich filed a request to revoke the AfD MP's immunity.
The image supposedly went unnoticed for more than a year, claims Bystron. He stated, "Only when the European Parliament election campaign began did the prosecutor discover the Nazi gesture and initiate an effective media-driven proceeding against me."
Accused of working for Russia
Even before Petr Bystron took his seat in the European Parliament in June of the preceding year, the prosecutor's office – as reported – was conducting an investigation into the politician. The allegations involved bribery and money laundering.
The German politician came under scrutiny in late March of the previous year due to an investigation into the pro-Russian internet portal "Voice of Europe" based in the Czech Republic. In interviews for the portal, he disseminated pro-Russian content. He is accused of receiving funds from Russia for this and working in the Bundestag on behalf of Russia. Bystron rejects these accusations, describing the actions against him as "politically motivated".
