(25 Apr 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Berlin – 25 April 2024
1. German parliament
2. German Eagle
3. Visitors of parliament debate
4. SOUNDBITE (German) Dirk Wiese, SPD:
"You want a weak Germany. You want to attack and destroy the foundations of the European Union. You pose a security risk to our country, a threat to our democracy, a danger to peace and security. The AfD seems to have its own welfare and contacts with dictators more in mind than the welfare of the citizens of our country."
5. AfD lawmakers
6. SOUNDBITE (German) Marc Heinrich Mann, CDU/CSU:
"You betray and sell out the German people."
7. German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser
8. SOUNDBITE (German) Konstantin von Notz, Greens:
"Your shop Mr. Crupalla, serves the Russian president. Your party’s political role model is the Communist Party in China. All this becomes clearer every day. And all this shows that the AfD is a disgrace to this House and to our entire country."
9. AfD lawmakers, AfD co leader Timo Crupalla
10. Parliament
11. SOUNDBITE (German) Stefan Keuter, AfD:
"Your attempt to damage the opposition in this country and portray them as corrupt spies using the secret service, support and compliant media such as "Spiegel" and co. is not working. It is clearly too obvious."
12. German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser speaking
13. SOUNDBITE (German) Nancy Faeser, German Interior Minister:
"The threats we are facing are an expression of a new world situation. They are an expression of a new competition between democrats and dictatorships. Whether Russia, China or Iran, they are all increasingly resorting to the means of their intelligence services to assert their geopolitical interests. We have been warning against and raising awareness of this for a long time."
14. AfD lawmakers
15. SOUNDBITE (German) Nancy Faeser, German Interior Minister
"It is unacceptable for representatives of the people to become Putin’s or Beijing’s henchmen and an instrument of their propaganda machinery. And I can tell you that we will not allow that, ladies and gentlemen."
16. German parliament
STORYLINE:
The German government and opposition lawmakers assailed the far-right Alternative for Germany for its alleged closeness to Russia and China Thursday after an assistant to a legislator for the party was arrested on suspicion of spying for Beijing.
This week’s arrest of an aide to European Parliament lawmaker Maximilian Krah cast an unflattering light on the Alternative for Germany, or AfD, which has long faced criticism for Russia-friendly positions.
Krah said he would dismiss the employee, Jian Guo, but remain the AfD’s top candidate for the European Parliament election in June.
The debate came as Dresden prosecutors said they were considering whether to open an investigation of Krah himself.
Those proceedings are unrelated to federal prosecutors’ investigation of Guo, they said in an emailed response to a query about the case.
They said the preliminary probe, which may or may not lead to a formal investigation, stems from reports of possible Russian and Chinese payments for Krah’s work as a lawmaker.
News magazine Der Spiegel and public broadcaster ZDF reported last week that Krah was questioned by the FBI at the end of a visit to the United States in December about possible payments from pro-Russian sources.
Krah has denied receiving any such payments. He wrote on social platform X that the preliminary investigation was “expectable given the press situation and routine” and added that “we are still in the area of suppositions and insinuations.”
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