Members of Germany's far-right AfD party accused of revealing sensitive information to Moscow

Opponents of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party accuse members of the party of trying to reveal sensitive information about arms supply routes and defense against drones.

AfD/PHOTO: EPA-EFE

According to Policito, far-right German politician Ringo Mühlmann has shown remarkable interest in revealing information that his political opponents say could be of great interest to Russian intelligence.

Using the rights conferred by his status as an AfD lawmaker in the parliament of the East German state of Thuringia, Muhlmann has repeatedly called on the regional government to reveal sensitive details on topics such as local drone defenses and Western arms shipments to Ukraine.

“What information does the state government have about the extent of military transport in transit through Thuringia in 2022 (broken down by year, type of transport [rutier, feroviar]number of known transits and stops)?Mühlmann asked in writing in September.

So in a single day in June, he filed eight subpoenas related to drones and the anti-drone defense capabilities of the regional police, responsible for detecting and neutralizing drones considered espionage threats.

However, the parliamentarian denies that he would act in the interests of Russia.

AfD lawmakers' questions have led Germany's centrist politicians to accuse the party of trying to leak sensitive information that could help Russia.

AfD, accused of following “a list of tasks from the Kremlin”

Thuringia's interior minister, Georg Maier, says the AfD appears to be following “a Kremlin to-do list” and criticizes the party's excessive interest in critical infrastructure and regional security, even though these topics are outside the remit of the state parliament.

AfD leaders frequently take positions favorable to the Kremlin, advocating the resumption of economic relations and gas imports, as well as stopping military aid to Ukraine.

Political opponents, however, often accuse them of acting not only out of conviction, but also at the behest of Moscow. Green MP Irene Mihalic, for example, named the party last month “Trojan horse” of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Germany.

AfD politicians deny allegations that they use their growing parliamentary power, both nationally and in the states, to pass sensitive information to the Kremlin.

AfD leader Tino Chrupalla rejected accusations that the party was helping Russia, saying the lawmakers' questions were legitimate and responded to citizens' fears. Mühlmann, a former policeman, denies acting “at the direction of Russia” and points out that ministers are responsible for what information is revealed in the answers, not MPs who ask questions.

Marc Henrichmann, a conservative lawmaker and chairman of a special Bundestag committee that oversees German intelligence, also said Russian intelligence could still piece together valuable information from the volume and variety of AfD questions.

The deputy adds that the AfD's inquiries in the Bundestag on subjects such as the authorities' knowledge of acts of sabotage and Russian hybrid activities in the Baltic Sea region, as well as the poisoning of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, attracted his attention and caused concern.

Since the beginning of 2020, the AfD factions in the German parliaments have submitted more than 7,000 interpellations on security issues, more than any other party.

In Thuringia, the AfD tabled almost 70% of all legislative questions, and in the Bundestag over 60%. Experts say the party uses the polls strategically to overwhelm ministries and gather intelligence on political opponents.

As for the wave of national security questions, the AfD's motivation is largely irrelevant, said Jakub Wondreys, a researcher at the Technical University of Dresden who studies the AfD's Russia policy.

“It is not impossible for them to act on behalf of the Kremlin. It is also possible that they are acting in their own name, because they are obviously pro-Kremlin. But the end result is pretty much the same. These questions pose a potential threat to national security.”