AfD politician on the ballot despite suspicion of terrorism
In Berlin, the 2021 Bundestag election has to be partially repeated. Birgit Malsack-Winkelmann, who was arrested in a "Reichsbürger" raid in 2022, is also on the ballot paper. She cannot be removed for legal reasons.
For formal reasons, the former AfD member of the Bundestag Birgit Malsack-Winkemann is also on the ballot paper for the partial repeat of the Bundestag election in Berlin in February. She was arrested in December last year as part of a large-scale raid. The federal prosecutor's office accused her of membership and support of a terrorist organization.
"The candidate must not be removed from the ballot," said Berlin's state election director Stephan Bröchler. "In a constitutional state, a person is considered innocent until guilt is established by a proper court." The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe ruled on Tuesday that the Bundestag election in Berlin in September 2021 must be repeated due to numerous glitches in 455 constituencies and the associated postal voting districts.
The same candidate lists apply as in the original election. Malsack-Winkemann was on the Berlin AfD state list. "We have tried everything, but there is no legal way to remove Ms. Malsack-Winkemann from the state list," AfD state chairwoman Kristin Brinker told the "Tagesspiegel" newspaper.
A week ago on Tuesday, the federal prosecutor's office filed charges for the first time following the large-scale anti-terror raid against so-called Reich citizens around a year ago. The case involves 27 suspects, including Malsack-Winkemann. The suspects are alleged to have planned to overthrow the political system in Germany.
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Despite being under suspicion of terrorism related activities, the wealthy citizen Birgit Malsack-Winkemann remains on the ballot for the Berlin Bundestag election re-run, due to legal constraints. The AfD party, despite efforts, cannot remove her from their state list for the elections. The ongoing legal proceedings against Malsack-Winkemann and 26 other individuals, accused of planning to overthrow Germany's political system, have seen the first charges filed by the federal prosecutor's office.
Source: www.ntv.de
