The AfD gave a suspected Russian spy access to the Bundestag. This is reported by the news portal “t-online”. The MP’s office of Petr Bystron invited to the event.
Corresponding videos and photos are available on “t-online”. According to information from “t-online”, several AfD MPs, including top candidate Maximilian Krah, were questioned by investigators about the case.
According to the research, Janusz Niedźwiecki, who is accused in Poland, took part in a meeting with the Putin-loyal oligarch Wiktor Medvedchuk in the AfD parliamentary group hall in January 2020. Medvedchuk is accused of paying bribes to European politicians via the “Voice of Europe” internet portal, which is now under EU sanctions. The Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office is therefore investigating Bystron. The Dresden Public Prosecutor’s Office is checking whether there could be initial suspicion against Krah.
Niedźwiecki is accused by the National Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw of having established contacts with politicians, including EU MPs, on behalf of the Russian secret service. He involved them in propaganda, disinformation and political provocations. He received cash payments for the respective orders. According to “t-online”, he maintained close contact with Medvedchuk’s party and his confidants.
Krah had Niedźwiecki permanently accredited in the EU Parliament in 2019 through his representative office. According to his own statements, Niedźwiecki then cooperated with Medvedchuk’s party and broadcasters controlled by him to organize events for the oligarch in the EU Parliament and the French Parliament. Krah and other Niedźwiecki contacts took part in a meeting with MPs in Strasbourg. A meeting in Paris was coordinated from Krah’s office. Krah also took part in the meeting in the Bundestag. He maintains contact with the same Medvedchuk confidant who cooperated with Niedźwiecki on the events.
The National Public Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw confirmed to “t-online” that it had sent a request for legal assistance to Germany in the Niedźwiecki case. Several AfD politicians admitted to “t-online” that they had been interviewed by investigators as witnesses. Bundestag member Stefan Keuter, who traveled to Azerbaijan with the alleged spy in 2018 and took part in the Medvedchuk meeting in the Bundestag, told “t-online” about the questioning: “It was about whether Niedźwiecki had offered money in any way – that was okay deny everything.”
Top candidate Krah told “t-online” that the Dresden police had questioned him about the circumstances surrounding Niedźwiecki’s accreditation in the EU Parliament. “I of course accepted the invitation and of course support the investigation where I can,” Krah continued. Bundestag member Bystron did not comment when asked.