Petr Bystron (born 30 November 1972) is a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

-born

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

politician. He is a member of the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...

since the German federal election in 2017 for the

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (, AfD, ) is a Far-right politics in Germany (1945–present), far-right,Far-right: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative p ...

(AfD) party. Bystron moved to Germany with his parents in 1987 from the former

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. He was a member of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) from 2006 to 2013. In 2017 Bystron was monitored by the

Bavarian Office for the Protection of the Constitution The Bayerisches Landesamt für Verfassungsschutz (BayLfV, "Bavarian Office for the Protection of the Constitution") is the Security agency, domestic intelligence agency of the Free State of Bavaria. Its main function is the observation and surve ...

because of his close ties to the

Identitarian movement The Identitarian movement or Identitarianism is a Pan-European nationalism, pan-European nationalist, Ethnic nationalism, ethno-nationalist, Far-right politics, far-right ideological movement centred on the preservation of White people, white ...

. On extreme right-wing PI-News Bystron wrote AfD had to be a "protective shield for this organisation". The German National Security Service named Bystron in his report about the monitoring of AfD as a party with anti-constitutional goals. Bystron and Maximilian Krah were elected as the AfD's top candidates for the

2024 European Parliament election in Germany The 2024 European Parliament election in Germany (European Parliament constituency), Germany was held on 9 June 2024. It was the tenth parliamentary election since the 1979 European Parliament election, first direct elections in 1979, and the fi ...

Controversy

On 28 March 2024, Czech website ' and German newspaper ''

Der Spiegel (, , stylized in all caps) is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of about 724,000 copies in 2022, it is one of the largest such publications in Europe. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...

'' reported that Czech

Security Information Service The Security Information Service (BIS, ) is the primary domestic national intelligence agency of the Czech Republic. It is responsible for collecting, analyzing, reporting and disseminating intelligence on threats to Czech Republic's national s ...

suspects that Bystron was also one of the recipients of funds from the pro-Russian Internet network "Voice of Europe" financed by the oligarch

Viktor Medvedchuk Viktor Volodymyrovych Medvedchuk (; born 7 August 1954), also known as Viktor Vladimirovich Medvedchuk (), is a former Ukrainian lawyer, business oligarch, and politician who has lived in exile in Russia since September 2022 after being handed ...

. In April 2024 the Munich Public Prosecutor's Office initiated preliminary investigations because of possible bribery of elected officials. According to

Die Zeit (, ) is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles. History The first edition of was ...

, the Public Prosecutor's Office suspected that 20,000 euros were handed over at a meeting between Bystron and employees of Russian propaganda in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. On 3 April, AfD leaders

Alice Weidel Alice Elisabeth Weidel (; born 6 February 1979) is a German far-right politician who has been serving as of the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party alongside Tino Chrupalla since June 2022. Since October 2017, she has held ...

and

Tino Chrupalla Tino Chrupalla (; born 14 April 1975) is a German politician from the right-wing populist party Alternative for Germany (AfD). A member of the German parliament (Bundestag) since 2017, he has served as co-chairman of the AfD since 2019 along wi ...

demanded a written explanation from Bystron for the allegations made against him. Maximilian Krah, another top AfD candidate for the European elections called for restraint in Bystron's election campaign. The Czech secret service (BIS) informed the Intelligence Committee of the

Czech Parliament The Parliament of the Czech Republic () or just Parliament () is the legislative branch of the Czech Republic. It meets in Malá Strana, Prague and is composed of 281 total members and Senators. It consists of two chambers, both elected in dire ...

on 18 April. A Member of Parliament reported to ''Deník N'' about a wiretapped conversation between Bystron and the pro-Russian Ukrainian businessman Artem Marchevsky in Prague, during which the BIS bugged Marchevsky's car. At the meeting, money of 20,000 euros was handed over to Bystron. On the tape, Bystron was reportedly heard counting the money. The Bundestag lifted his immunity as a member of parliament and the LKA Bavaria carried out searches. Supported by eleven public prosecutors and almost 70 police officers, Bystron's parliamentary office in Berlin as well as properties on

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

, in the districts of Munich,

Erding Erding () is a Town#Germany, town in Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the Erding (district), rural district of the same name. It had a population of 36,469 in 2019. The original Erdinger Weissbier is a well-known Bavarian specialty. Erding is ...

and

Deggendorf Deggendorf (; ) is a town in Bavaria, Germany, capital of the Deggendorf district. It is located on the left bank approximately in the middle between the Danube cities of Regensburg and Passau. The Danube forms the town's natural border towards ...

were searched. Third parties who are not accused are also searched. Data carriers were seized “which are now being evaluated with regard to incriminating or exculpatory evidence.” Bystron apparently left incriminating evidence with party friends. In the office of the employee of another AfD MP, the police found a roll container from Bystron containing documents proving payments to him. There they found also a list of gold bars and an exposé about a property in Brussels that cost around two million euros. The police also searched Katrin Ebner-Steiner and another AfD politician to find documents from Bystron.

References

External links

* Official website 1972 births Living people Politicians from Olomouc Free Democratic Party (Germany) politicians Members of the Bundestag for Bavaria Members of the Bundestag 2017–2021 Members of the Bundestag 2021–2025 Members of the Bundestag for the Alternative for Germany Petr Bystron German political scientists German people of Czech descent MEPs for Germany 2024–2029 {{Germany-AFD-politician-stub