Germany’s far-right party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), has announced that it has filed a defamation complaint against Friedrich Merz, Politico reports.
In a speech, Merz stated that the “remigration” plan proposed by the AfD was akin to ethnic cleansing.
Stephan Brandner, an AfD representative in the Bundestag, emphasized in a statement that Merz’s insinuation—suggesting the AfD parliamentary group (which is firmly grounded in the German Constitution) was committed to ethnic cleansing, specifically deportation and murder—was so explicit that the justice system ought to intervene in the matter.
Merz commented on the AfD proposal during a Bundestag debate on the 9th of September. He stated that “remigration” is nothing more than a synonym for ethnic cleansing based on skin color and ethnicity.
Merz also added that the AfD’s plan to reduce migration would ruin the German economy.
Under Article 46 of the German Basic Law, members of the Bundestag are protected from legal proceedings regarding statements made in parliament. However, this protection does not extend to defamatory insults. In Brandner’s view, Merz’s remarks crossed the line, thereby paving the way for legal action. Merz has not commented on the AfD’s proposal, and his press representatives also did not respond to a request for comment.
“Remigration” is a far-right concept used by the AfD to refer to the deportation or return to their countries of origin of migrants whom the party deems ineligible to remain in Germany. It can encompass a wide range of scenarios, from the deportation of individuals without legal status to the mass expulsion of migrants and their descendants. The AfD dedicated an entire chapter to immigration and remigration issues in its election manifesto for the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt.
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