BERLIN, Oct 30 (Reuters) – A parliamentarian from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party was arrested on Monday for violating the law on the exhibition of banned symbols, after neighbors of his student fraternity had also complained of having often heard the Nazi salute pronounced there.
Newly elected Daniel Halemba, 22, is due to take office in the Bavarian Landtag later on Monday. He is a member of the Teutonia Prague student fraternity, whose premises were raided by police in September.
During the search, authorities said they found far-right symbols banned in Germany and neighbors complained of hearing people shouting “Sieg Heil” inside the premises.
A prosecution spokesperson said Daniel Halemba is expected to appear in court later on Monday or Tuesday. The charge relates to incitement to racist violence.
“They want to arrest me, an elected member of the state parliament, three days before I take office, using a completely illegal arrest warrant,” Daniel Halemba said in a video shared on the Telegram channel from his lawyer.
The AfD, favored by the national debate on immigration, is placed second in the polls in several Lander in the east of the country and obtained record results in Bavaria and in the Land of Hesse on October 8.
Daniel Halemba, who joined the Teutonia Prague fraternity while a law student in Würzburg, has previously named Bjoern Hoecke, leader of the right wing of the AfD, as his political role model. (Report by Thomas Escritt, French version by Augustin Turpin, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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