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On April 1, the European Parliament voted in Strasbourg to lift the parliamentary immunity of Petr Bystron — a German MEP of Czech descent representing the far-right “Europe of Sovereign Nations” group and a member of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party — according to a report by Deutsche Welle.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola is now expected to formally notify both the German Ministry of Justice and Petr Bystron of the decision, after which German authorities will move forward with legal proceedings.
The immunity was lifted in connection with an image published by Bystron — a digitally altered montage showing senior German officials, including Angela Merkel and Olaf Scholz, performing a Nazi salute. The image was shared after the dismissal of Ukrainian ambassador Andriy Melnyk and was accompanied by the caption: “Goodbye, Melnyk! German politicians wave farewell.”
The request to revoke Bystron’s immunity was submitted by the German Ministry of Justice on Aug. 27, 2024, following a petition from the Chief Prosecutor of Munich. The charges relate to sections of the German Criminal Code concerning the use of symbols associated with unconstitutional and terrorist organizations.
This is not the first time Bystron has faced such accusations. On Sept. 7, 2023,, when Bystron was a member of the Bundestag, a similar request had been approved by the German parliament, but the investigation was suspended after his election to the European Parliament. Following a series of hearings involving Bystron, the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee found no signs of political persecution and recommended lifting his immunity, as the alleged offense was committed before he acquired MEP status.
According to a joint investigation by Die Zeit, Der Spiegel, and several other European media outlets, Bystron was also involved with the pro-Kremlin media platform “Voice of Europe.” Reports suggest that he, along with fellow AfD member Maximilian Krah and other politicians, may have received financial compensation — possibly up to €2 billion — for supporting the platform’s activities via a network linked to Viktor Medvedchuk, a pro-Kremlin Ukrainian oligarch and personal friend of Vladimir Putin.
In February 2024, The Insider reported that several AfD members actively cooperated with the Kremlin through Vladimir Sergienko, a Russian political strategist of Ukrainian origin who has lived in Germany for many years, even obtaining German citizenship. The Insider’s investigation confirmed that Sergienko was not merely a propagandist but an agent recruited by the FSB’s Fifth Service to interfere with Germany’s military aid to Kyiv.