AfD district councillor - Sesselmann takes legal dispute to next instance
The Sonneberg District Administrator Robert Sesselmann (AfD) is appealing against a decision by the Meiningen Administrative Court regarding a journalist's request for information. The Sonneberg District announced this on Friday at the Thuringia Higher Administrative Court in Weimar.
By a preliminary injunction, the Meiningen Court had ordered the District to provide information to a journalist from the Spiegel Publishing House. Sesselmann had announced the filing of appeals. No reason for the appeal by the District was available, according to the Higher Administrative Court. Sesselmann is the first AfD politician to be elected as District Administrator and thus to a leading communal office in 2023.
The Meiningen Administrative Court had instructed the District to provide "concrete information on various matters of public interest." The reason was an urgent application by a reporter from the magazine "Der Spiegel," who claimed his right to information under the Thuringia Press Law.
The matter concerned information on the conduct of District Administrator Sesselmann. Among other things, information on personnel development at the Sonneberg District Administration since the AfD politician took office or on refugee policy and the implementation of various political announcements by Sesselmann during the campaign for the District Administrator's office in Southern Thuringia were requested.
- The legal dispute over the right to information involves Robert Sesselmann, the District Administrator of Sonneberg and a member of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), and Der Spiegel Publishing House's journalist.
- The County of Sonneberg's decision to appeal the Meiningen Administrative Court's preliminary injunction has sparked interest in Thuringian municipalities and regional media.
- The administrative process regarding this right-to-information request will continue at the Administrative Court in Weimar, where the higher administrative court is reviewing the Sonneberg District's appeal.
- The County of Sonneberg's administrative court filing has not provided a clear reason for challenging the Meiningen Administrative Court's decision to require District Administrator Sesselmann to disclose specific details.
- After his election as District Administrator in 2023, Robert Sesselmann became the first AfD politician to hold a leading communal office, igniting further debate about his administrative practices and policies in Southern Thuringia.
- The media have closely followed this legal dispute, keeping Thuringian residents and the public informed about the unfolding processes and potential implications of the right-to-information case against District Administrator Sesselmann.
