The „Alternative for Germany” (AfD) party announced that it has filed a defamation complaint against Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who described as „ethnic cleansing” the concept of „remigration” used by the German far right.
The Chancellor’s statements are „criminally condemnable and completely unacceptable,” said Stephan Brandner, a representative of the AfD parliamentary group, in a video posted on platform X Thursday night, announcing the filing of a complaint for „defamatory insults,” AFP reported on Friday.
Members of the Bundestag benefit from parliamentary immunity, which ensures the independence of the lower house of the legislature and the exercise of their mandate without judicial or executive pressure.
However, the text also provides an exception for defamatory insults, the only reason why members, including the Chancellor, can be prosecuted for statements made in parliament.
On Sunday, during the regional elections in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD - a pro-Russian and anti-immigrant party - obtained nearly 44% of the votes, far ahead of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which received 17% of the votes.
The Chancellor accused AfD on Wednesday of promoting "ethnic cleansing" through "remigration," a word used by the far right to define its mass expulsion policy of foreigners.
"The word 'remigration' is nothing more than a synonym for ethnic cleansing based on origin and skin color," Friedrich Merz said during a debate in the Bundestag, amid booing from the elected officials.