Ministry of Justice: Disciplinary charges against AfD man Jens Maier raised

Saxony’s Ministry of Justice has filed a disciplinary action against former AfD member of parliament and judge Jens Maier. The ministry said he was accused of breaching his official duties in his former position as a judge at the Dresden Regional Court.

The Saxon Office for the Protection of the Constitution has classified Maier as a right-wing extremist since 2020. Saxony’s Justice Minister Katja Meier (Greens) argued that anyone who is viewed as a right-wing extremist by state authorities can no longer be a credible representative of the judiciary. “I have always said that we would exhaust all legally permissible options to protect the Saxon judiciary from enemies of the constitution in our own ranks,” explained the justice minister.

The disciplinary action relates to statements made by Jens Maier before he was elected to the Bundestag – in 2017 he publicly stated about the violent acts of the Norwegian terrorist Anders Breivik, among other things, that he had become a mass murderer “out of desperation”. He wrote about ZDF journalist Marietta Slomka on his Facebook page: “Abolish GEZ, dispose of Slomka!”.

“Judges must commit themselves to the free democratic basic order within the meaning of the Basic Law through their entire behavior and stand up for its preservation. They must also behave inside and outside of their office, including in political activity, in such a way that trust in their independence is not jeopardized and are subject to the duty of respectful and trustworthy conduct,” the ministry said.

The lawsuit was filed with the service court for judges located at the Leipzig regional court. The federal service court at the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) wants to negotiate the Jens Maier case on October 5. He is defending himself against a judgment by the Leipzig service court that declared his retirement permissible.