Germany: Right wing lawmaker arrested for 'Sieg Heil' salute

The far-right Alternative for Germany lawmaker was detained on Monday on suspicion of displaying banned totalitarian symbols. His fraternity’s neighbours claimed to have heard the Nazi “Sieg Heil” victory salute frequently.

Later on Monday, Daniel Halemba, a 22-year-old newly elected member of the Bavarian regional parliament, was scheduled to take office. He belongs to the student fraternity Teutonia Prague, whose facilities were searched by police in September.

According to officials, during the raid, they discovered symbols that were forbidden (the German constitution forbids the display of symbols of totalitarian regimes, such as the swastika) and neighbours reported hearing “Sieg Heil” (Hail Victory) coming from within.

Halemba is scheduled to appear in court later on Monday or Tuesday, according to a representative for the prosecution. Among the accusations is inciting racist abuse.

Voters appear undisturbed by the AfD’s rightward drift, and the party has enjoyed a string of impressive electoral performances well beyond its former strongholds in the post-industrial East thanks to a national discourse that is becoming more and more centred around immigration.

On October 8, the party—which was polling second in a number of eastern states—achieved historic results in the western states of Hesse and Bavaria.

Many states are keeping an eye on the party and its youth wing after high-profile individuals like lead candidate for the European Parliament, Maximilian Krah, made comments like “oriental landgrabs” equaling “sexual abuse of European girls” and compared immigration to colonialism.

As a law student in Wuerzburg, Halemba became a member of the fraternity and cited Bjoern Hoecke, the head of the AfD’s far-right wing, as his political hero.

In a video posted on his attorney’s Telegram channel, Halemba declared, “They want to use a totally lawless arrest warrant to arrest me, an elected state parliament member, three days before I take my seat.”

Germany’s fraternities, many of which have roots in the nation’s original 19th-century unification, are well known for their conservative and frequently nationalistic ideologies.

(With agency inputs)