Even before the inaugural state parliament session in October, there was the first scandal of the legislative period: a newly elected member of the Bavarian AfD was wanted with an arrest warrant. That has now been repealed.
The Würzburg regional court has revoked the arrest warrant against the Bavarian AfD member of the state parliament Daniel Halemba, which had already been suspended against certain conditions. The court announced on Tuesday that during the investigation, among other things, on suspicion of sedition, there is no longer any risk that Halemba could manipulate evidence or influence witnesses. The evidence is now “sufficiently established”. Halemba himself rejects the public prosecutor’s allegations.
The Würzburg district court had already partially upheld Halemba’s complaint on January 9th. The regional court explained that parts of the original allegations were no longer the subject of the arrest warrant due to a lack of strong suspicion.
Also with regard to a wine bottle with the image of the commander of Adolf Hitler’s bodyguard and an “SS skull” in the rooms of the Teutonia Prag zu Würzburg fraternity, the Board of Appeal denied any urgent suspicion because the relevant photo of the bottle was taken at a time when when Halemba was not yet a member of the fraternity. The fraternity is now being monitored by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. This has also been true for the AfD as a party in Bavaria for a long time.
Court: Three criminal charges
In the end, according to the court, three charges remained against Halemba. “Since the evidence regarding these allegations has now been sufficiently secured, there is no longer any reason to fear that the accused will be successful in concealing the crime,” the regional court’s press office quoted the responsible chamber as saying. The latter therefore denied that the reason for arrest was the risk of obscurity and revoked the arrest warrant. Halemba’s lawyer welcomed the decision. He expects an acquittal.
The arrest warrant against the young politician Halemba was originally issued on suspicion of incitement to hatred and the use of symbols of anti-constitutional organizations. At the end of October – immediately before the inaugural session of the newly elected state parliament – he was arrested after days of searching. However, the Würzburg district court decided to suspend the arrest warrant under certain conditions.
The new parliamentarian was therefore not taken into custody. However, in a historically extraordinary step, the state parliament lifted the immunity that MPs normally enjoy directly in its constituent session. The investigation could therefore continue.
Controversial within his own party
Halemba is also controversial in the AfD. He is accused in the party, among other things, of having cheated in his favor when drawing up the list for the state elections. For this, he was banned from holding office within the party for two years by the Bavarian state executive committee. At a state party conference, a majority of delegates also asked him to resign from his parliamentary mandate.
However, this decision was not binding for Halemba. And: The AfD parliamentary group in Bavaria supported him. The 22-year-old remained a member of the Maximilianeum. The right-wing populists emerged from the state elections as the second strongest faction.
Source: Stern
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