The European Parliament in Strasbourg voted to waive the immunity of AfD politician Siegbert Droese. This follows a criminal trial for defamation, in which Droese had appealed his conviction. According to a request from the Federal Ministry of Justice, the waiver of immunity was necessary to proceed with the appeal, the parliamentary report stated.
The Member of the European Parliament from Leipzig had been fined by the Dresden Local Court in April 2024 for two counts of defamation. According to media reports, Droese referred to a journalist as “far-left extremist rabble” on the platform X. In May 2024, he filed an appeal against the verdict.
Droese was subsequently elected to the European Parliament in the June 2024 European elections. He is a member of the Europe of Sovereign Nations parliamentary group.
In its decision to waive immunity, the Parliament clarified that the actions underlying the alleged criminal offenses took place before Droese’s time as a Member of the European Parliament. It stated that it could not be assumed that the legal proceedings were intended to undermine Droese’s political activities as a member of the European Parliament and, thereby, the independence of the Parliament.
