- A leftist MP's office in Erfurt searched
Police raid the office of a Left Party MP in the Thuringian state parliament. According to dpa information, it's related to investigations into child pornography. Other locations were also searched. The MDR had previously reported on this. The public prosecutor's office in Erfurt initially declined to comment on the investigation. A spokesperson for the investigating authority did not deny a corresponding MDR report. The case breaks just as the election campaign is heating up - a new state parliament will be elected in Thuringia on September 1st.
Thuringia's Minister President Bodo Ramelow, also a member of the Left Party, expressed shock at the allegations. "Until clarified, the affected MP should suspend all posts and duties," Ramelow wrote on X. If the allegations prove true, he expects severe consequences. "Law and justice apply to politicians too," Ramelow emphasized. "It must be clarified quickly, thoroughly, and consistently."
Fraktion supports public prosecutor's office
The Thuringian Left Party faction leader Steffen Dittes expressed shock. "The severity of the criminal charge horrifies me," he wrote in a statement. It is now the task of the public prosecutor's office and the police to clarify the criminal charge. "As a faction, we guarantee full support for the investigative work of the public prosecutor's office and the police and assure this also for the further course of the investigation."
The two co-chairs of the Left Party in Thuringia, Ulrike Grande-Röthig and Christian Schaft, also expressed shock. "We explicitly ask for restraint in public handling of the matter regarding the MP's family," they stated. They support the investigative work of the public prosecutor's office and the police, and the matter must be clarified thoroughly. "Until the matter is clarified, it is a matter of course for us that the MP suspends his work and activities in the faction and in the ongoing election campaign with immediate effect."
The election campaign in Thuringia becomes a topic of interest due to the ongoing investigation, as the allegations emerge just before the election on September 1st. The Left Party, in response to the situation, urges the affected MP to suspend all activities in the faction and the election campaign immediately, providing full support to the investigative work of the public prosecutor's office and the police.
