A lawmaker from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), Petr Bystron, has denied allegations connecting him with Russian propaganda and disinformation campaigns.
"At no time have I received any payments or cryptocurrencies from an employee of VoE (or any Russian)," he wrote on Thursday in a statement to the party leadership made available to dpa. He was referring to the pro-Russian propaganda platform Voice of Europe, which has alleged ties to Russian intelligence agencies.
The Czech newspaper Denik N reported, citing intelligence sources, that Bystron is suspected of having been in contact with VoE and alleged he may also have accepted money.
The newspaper reported on the existence of an audio recording that allegedly incriminates Bystron, and also that Bystron's name was discussed at a meeting of Czech Cabinet ministers last week where the Czech-registered platform and its backers were placed under sanctions, citing multiple ministers as sources.
The Czech domestic intelligence service BIS is not planning to make any audio recordings about the case public for the time being.
"The general rule is that this would be intelligence material that we do not publish," a spokesman said in Prague on Thursday in response to an enquiry.
Bystron is a member of Germany's parliament. He is also second on the AfD's list of candidates for the European Parliament elections in June.
On Wednesday, AfD co-chairs Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla demanded a written statement from Bystron by this Thursday at the latest. According to a party spokesperson, it was received by midday.
In the statement, Bystron went on to say that the party and parliamentary group leaders would discuss the matter in the coming days. As things stand, Weidel and Chrupalla wanted to speak to Bystron in person on Monday.
Bystron wrote of a "defamation campaign against politicians from six European parties - including myself."
This is an attempt to prevent right-wing populist parties from performing strongly in Europe and from forming a strong parliamentary group in the European Parliament, he said.
"I have already contacted lawyers in both Germany and the Czech Republic to take action against this defamation."
The Czech BIS spokesman said that it was not common practice among intelligence services to make such material available to other states. Apart from that, colleagues from a German intelligence service had received "comparatively extensive information" about the case.
"It is then up to them or the state bodies to decide how to present themselves to the public." He did not want to disclose further details because, according to him, it is an active case on which several European intelligence services are working.
