AfD Pushes for Immunity Extension for Parliamentary Statements
Decriminalization of parliamentary remarks proposed by the AfD party - Right-wing political party AfD seeks immunity from legal action for its parliament members
Hey there! Let's chat about a hot topic in Lower Saxony's state parliament. The radical party, AfD, is on a mission to make the statements of their MPs inviolable, even when they step outside the parliament walls. This week, the AfD faction is putting forward a draft for a constitutional amendment to ensure this extended protection.
According to their interior politician Stephan Bothe, this move is all about safeguarding the foundations of democracy and the right to free speech. Bothe explains that the amendment aims to ensure that an MP's protection from prosecution applies to all communications between them and citizens—be it press work, social media appearances, personal websites, parliamentary initiatives, or public speaking engagements.
To put it into perspective, only statements made "in the Landtag, in a committee, or in a faction" are currently protected by Article 14 of the state constitution. Defamatory insults do not fall under immunity.
The SPD (Social Democratic Party) isn't exactly thrilled about the AfD's proposal, calling it a blank check for hate and incitement by their functionaries. Parliamentary manager Wiard Siebels asserts that democratic factions won't be swayed by this gimmick. He alleges that the AfD is trying to divert attention from its online hate tirades by seeking special rights.
In the midst of these discussions, AfD MP Vanessa Behrendt finds herself embroiled in two investigations for suspected incitement of the people. One case pertains to her reference of the rainbow flag as a symbol of "machinations by pedophile lobby groups" on the X platform, while the other centers around her describing a group of pedophiles as criminal despite their claims of not acting on their inclinations. Behrendt has also allegedly published the address of the man who filed a complaint in the second case, leading to charges of dangerous dissemination of personal data.
Interestingly, Bothe implies that the central office against hate crime on the internet is biasing its proceedings against MPs. Meanwhile, Behrendt continues to defend her controversial statements as a permissible exercise of free speech and accuses the central office of political motivation. Despite the investigations, she remains tight-lipped about the second case due to ongoing proceedings.
So, there you have it! The AfD is working on a constitutional amendment that could significantly impact free speech and hate speech laws in Germany. This move comes amidst controversy surrounding some of their MPs. The broader context suggests that extending immunity for MPs beyond parliamentary speech could raise concerns about the balance between protecting political expression and enforcing hate speech laws in the country. Keep your eyes peeled for updates on this developing story!
- AfD
- Landtag
- Lower Saxony
- SPD
- Vanessa Behrendt
- Constitutional Amendment
- Parliamentary Immunity
- Free Speech
- Hate Speech Laws
- Germany
- As the AfD pushes for a constitutional amendment in Lower Saxony's state parliament, aiming to extend the immunity of MPs' statements beyond parliamentary walls, a debate on the potential impact on free speech and hate speech laws in EC countries is heating up.
- With the SPD raising concerns about the proposed amendment being a gimmick aimed at distracting from online hate tirades, politicians, media, and the general public are closely following developments related to the policy-and-legislation, politics, and general-news aspects of this contentious issue in Germany.
