Court of law - Expatriation of former AfD employee is legal
A former employee of an AfD Bundestags deputy has unsuccessfully contested his expulsion. The Administrative Court of Berlin has ruled in an expedited procedure that the revocation of his naturalization was justified and thus confirmed the action of the Berlin Senate Interior Administration. The decision is not yet legally binding (Az.: VG 25 L 329/24). The man had already filed a complaint with the Higher Administrative Court Berlin-Brandenburg, a court spokeswoman announced on Friday. Previously, "Spiegel" had reported.
Court: Fraudulent Misrepresentation
The Administrative Court based its decision on the fact that the former employee had obtained his naturalization through fraudulent misrepresentation. He had concealed his Russian passport in the naturalization proceedings, it was stated. The man had reportedly indicated at a Berlin district office in September 2019 that he only possessed Ukrainian citizenship. In November 2022, he became a German citizen. In April 2023, federal police discovered a Russian passport on him at Hamburg Airport. As a result, the Interior Senate revoked his naturalization.
The man is suing. Since the Interior Ministry ordered the immediate execution of the revocation, he attempted in the expedited procedure to achieve a stay of execution - in vain. It is currently assumed that the decision of the Interior Administration was lawful.
Under Surveillance of the Constitutional Protection
The man was an employee of AfD Bundestags deputy Eugen Schmidt until the beginning of the year and had long possessed a parliamentary ID card. According to the Administrative Court's ruling, the Constitutional Protection Agency suspects him of acting on behalf of Russian state agencies to the detriment of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The plaintiff denies this. Merely denying it, however, is not sufficient in the eyes of the judges. Rather, the "suspicious entries in his passports, the unusual inflow of substantial funds from abroad, and his entirely unsubstantiated statements" regarding the acquisition of Russian citizenship provide sufficient grounds for the assessment of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution to be correct, it says in the ruling obtained by dpa.
Matters like this have given rise to stricter security measures in the Bundestag. For example, it is now being considered whether, in future, the Constitutional Protection Agency should be routinely consulted before issuing a parliamentary ID card to employees. A decision on the new measures is expected to be made this fall.
"Spiegel" Report - Behind Paywall
- The man, a former employee of an AfD Bundestags deputy, is currently suing against his expulsion from Germany, as the Administrative Court of Berlin ruled that his naturalization was obtained through fraudulent misrepresentation.
- The decision, which is not yet legally binding, was based on the man's concealment of his Russian passport during the naturalization process and his later discovery with federal police at Hamburg Airport.
- The Administrative Court also noted that the man, who worked for AfD Bundestags deputy Eugen Schmidt, is under surveillance by the Constitutional Protection Agency, as they suspect him of acting on behalf of Russian state agencies to the detriment of Germany.
- The court ruling states that the man's "suspicious entries in his passports, the unusual inflow of substantial funds from abroad, and his entirely unsubstantiated statements" regarding the acquisition of Russian citizenship provide sufficient grounds for this assessment by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
- Matters like this have led to stricter security measures in the Bundestag, with discussions taking place about whether the Constitutional Protection Agency should be routinely consulted before issuing a parliamentary ID card to its employees.
