Petr Bystron

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Petr Bystron
MdB
Member of the Bundestag
Assumed office
24 September 2017
Personal details
Born
Petr Bystroň

(1972-11-30) 30 November 1972 (age 51)[1]
Olomouc, Czechoslovakia
NationalityGerman
Political partyAlternative for Germany
Other political
affiliations		Free Democratic Party (2006–2013)
Alma materSchool of Political Science, Munich
Websitepetrbystron.de

Petr Bystron (born 30 November 1972) is a German politician. He was a candidate for Munich North for the Bundestag during the German federal election in 2017 for the far-right Alternative for Germany party.[1] Czech intelligent service BIS presented evidence in 2024 that Bystron was bribed by Russia to represent its interests in the European Parliament and German Bundestag.[2][3]

Bystron moved to Germany with his parents in 1987 from the former Czechoslovakia. He was a member of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) from 2006 to 2013.[4]

In 2017 Bystron was monitored by the State of Office for the Protection of the Constitution because of his close ties to the Identitarian movement. On extrem right-wing PI-News Bystron wrote AfD had to be a „otective shieldor this organisation". The German National Security Service named Bystron in his report about the momitoring of AfD as a party with anti-constitutional goals.[5]

Bystron and Maximilian Krah were elected as the AfD's top candidates for the 2024 European elections.

Controversy[edit]

On 28 March 2024, Czech website Deník N [cs] and German newspaper Der Spiegel reported that Czech Security Information Service 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.[6][7][8]

In April 2024 the Munich Public Prosecutor's Office initiated preliminary investigations because of possible bribery of elected officials.[9] According to Die Zeit, Public Prosecuter Office suspected that 20,000 euros were handed over at a meeting between Bystron and employees of Russian propaganda in Prague.[10]

On April 3, 2024 AfD party leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla demanded a written explanation from Bystron for the allegations made against him. Maximilan Krah, AfD other top-candidate for the European elections demanded refrain from appearing in Bystron's election campaign.[11]

The Czech secret service informed the Intelligence Committee of the Czech Parliament on April 18, 2024. Member of Parliament reported to Deník N [cs] about a wiretapped conversation between Bystron and the Moscow-loyal Ukrainian businessman Artem Marchevsky in Prague. The BIS had bugged Marchevsky's car. At the meeting, money of 20,000 euros was handed over to Bystron. On the tape, you can hear Bystron counting the money.[12]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Deutscher Bundestag – Petr Bystron". Deutscher Bundestag (in German). Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  2. ^ RBB, Andrea Becker, Georg Heil und Markus Pohl. "Russische Einflussoperation: Geldübergabe an Bystron im Auto?". tagesschau.de (in German). Retrieved 20 April 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ deutschlandfunk.de. "AfD - Hinweise auf mögliche Geldübergabe an Bystron - Ermittlungen gegen Halemba". Die Nachrichten (in German). Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  4. ^ "Petr Bystroň ends at the head of the Bavarian AfD organization". Novinky.cz (in Czech). Borgis. Czech News Agency. 14 November 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  5. ^ Meister, Andre; Biselli, Anna; Reuter, Markus (28 January 2019). "Prüffall: Wir veröffentlichen das Verfassungsschutz-Gutachten zur AfD". netzpolitik.org (in German). Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  6. ^ Pokorná, Zdislava (28 March 2024). "Deník N a Spiegel: BIS ukázala na německého politika s českými kořeny". Deník N (in Czech). N Media, a. s. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  7. ^ Baumgärtner, Maik; Knobbe, Martin; Müller, Ann-Katrin; Rosenbach, Marcel; Schmid, Fidelius; Wiedmann-Schmidt, Wolf (29 March 2024). "Wie tief steckt die AfD im Russland-Sumpf?". Der Spiegel (in German). Spiegel-Verlag. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  8. ^ "Tschechien meldet Erfolg gegen russische Propaganda". tagesschau.de (in German). Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  9. ^ "AfD uneins über Umgang mit Bystron". tagesschau.de (in German). Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  10. ^ "Affäre um prorussische Desinformation - Generalstaatsanwaltschaft München nimmt Vorermittlungen im Fall Bystron auf". Die Nachrichten (in German). Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  11. ^ Holl, Thomas (4 April 2024). "Die AfD hält Distanz zu Bystron: Auch Krah geht auf Abstand". FAZ.NET (in German). ISSN 0174-4909. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  12. ^ RBB, Andrea Becker, Georg Heil und Markus Pohl. "Russische Einflussoperation: Geldübergabe an Bystron im Auto?". tagesschau.de (in German). Retrieved 20 April 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

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