AfD in Germany suspected of spying for Russia - Der Spiegel
AfD MPs have systematically sent numerous parliamentary inquiries to the German government concerning details of military transport, countering drones, cyber defense, and the vulnerability of critical infrastructure.
According to Censor.NET, this was reported by Der Spiegel.
German politicians concerned about possible data collection for Russia
Politicians and representatives of law enforcement agencies fear that this data was collected for transfer to Russia, the publication clarifies.
Thuringia's Interior Minister Georg Mayer said that the AfD was "abusing its parliamentary right to submit inquiries in order to deliberately investigate the country's critical infrastructure."
According to him, these actions show "the fulfillment of tasks set by the Kremlin." Mayer directly accused the party of acting in Russia's interests.
A similar position was expressed by Thomas Revekamp, chairman of the Bundestag's defense committee. In an interview with Der Spiegel, he noted that the AfD "purposefully and systematically asks extremely detailed questions about the military capabilities of the Bundeswehr and its weaknesses."
According to him, such a level of detail "cannot be explained by ordinary parliamentary control" and "may indicate the collection of sensitive information valuable to foreign states, primarily Russia."
Sources at Der Spiegel in the Federal Ministry of Defense report that Defense Minister Boris Pistorius shares these suspicions. The ministry believes that the AfD's inquiries may be coordinated and that their goal is to identify gaps in Germany's defense systems.
Interest in cybersecurity and data center infrastructure
According to the publication, the AfD is particularly interested in topics such as drones, cybersecurity, and the preparedness of state data centers for crisis situations. The party asked questions that could reveal potentially confidential information, including: how many data centers the Ministry of the Interior has, which of them are equipped with backup power supplies, and how effectively they are protected from cyberattacks.
"Detailed answers to such questions could be extremely useful for Russian hackers and Kremlin military analysts," the article says.
The coalition parties in the Bundestag have already stated that there are "clear links" between the AfD and the Russian embassy in Berlin.
Minister Mayer also mentioned the party's "close ties" not only with Russia, but also with China.
The head of the CDU/CSU faction, Jens Spahn, stressed that "the suspicion that members of parliament are working in parliament for the benefit of a hostile state is the most serious possible."
According to him, if AfD leader Alice Weidel does not provide convincing explanations, she could become "an accomplice to possible treason."
