A German member of the European Parliament accused of receiving bribes to support the Russian government was stripped of its parliamentary immunity on Tuesday.
Alternative for Germany Petr Bystron has several criminal procedures under way at the Munich prosecutor's office, with accusations dating back to his mandate as a member of the German Parliament.
Bystron is suspected of having received cash payments in person or cryptocurrency transfers from the pro-Russian website “Voice of Europe”, in exchange for his commitment to speak and to vote in the interest of the Russian government.
His name appeared with other far -right deputies in a investigation On the Russian influence on the European Parliament through the media, which is now prohibited.
He would have deposited considerable sums in an automatic counter in 2023 in an account belonging to a company of which he is the only shareholder and manager, then withdrew the same amount of money. Other suspicious movements were recorded in July 2021, April 2022, September 2022 and in June and July 2023, according to the European Parliament report on the case.
Bystron is also accused by the German authorities of passive corruption, money laundering, fraud and tax evasion. He would have submitted incorrect VAT feedback and hired his lawyer as a parliamentary assistant, and would be accused of having defrauded the German public up to more than € 97,000 in the German public budget.
The plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg has decided to give up his immunity by an overwhelming majority on a demonstration of hands, so that a count was not necessary.
“The plan to delete my immunity is not a legal procedure but a targeted political maneuver,” Bystron said in a press release. He said this decision was born from a campaign involving the Voice of Europe information platform and targeting several politicians who were among the most frank opponents of the war in Ukraine. “The prosecutor should not investigate the victims of this campaign, but rather the brains behind her,” said Bystron.
“The AFD delegation considers the process as a political motivation and considers it as an attempt to discredit a committed European politician,” said the Europe of Sovereign Nations group – to which the alternative belongs to the German delegation – in a press release.
“We did not find evidence of a political persecution against him”, the rapporteur for the renunciation of the immunity of Bystron, told Euronews, deputy French deputy Pascale Piera.
How does immunity work by EURPLY?
This vote opens the path of the German authorities to investigate Bystron and, if they consider it appropriate, place it in a state of arrest.
This is the third request for renunciation of immunity for the German legislator: one was approved by Parliament on April 1 and another is underway within the Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament (Juri).
The renunciation of immunity does not constitute a verdict of guilt, simply a procedural step to allow the legal proceedings to proceed, said a spokesperson for the European Parliament.
Before any legal proceedings could be launched against a member in exercise of the European Parliament, the authorities of inquiry must request a waiver of parliamentary immunity.
The parliamentary privilege is intended to restrict any unauthorized legal action and to protect deputies from arbitrary political proceedings, but is not designed to put deputies outside the reach of the law.
ADVERTISEMENTThey cannot claim immunity when they are taken in the process of committing an offense, and their immunity can be lifted after a (double) vote by their colleagues.
When a national authority submits a request to the House, the President of the Parliament announces in plenary and refers it to the Legal Affairs Committee (court).
The committee investigates by requesting any information or explanation that it deems necessary and the MEP in question has the possibility of being heard and can present any document or other written proof.
Following this internal investigation, the Juri Committee made a recommendation on the advisability of approving or rejecting the request to raise the immunity of the MEP. The last word is for the European Parliament as a whole: so far, eight derogations from immunity have been voted by the plenary in this legislature.
ADVERTISEMENTThere is no predefined calendar for the entire process, because each case is individual with its own distinct features.
