{"id":484167,"date":"2025-10-08T23:28:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T23:28:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/484167\/"},"modified":"2025-10-08T23:28:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T23:28:14","slug":"hamburg-afd-ousts-member-for-attending-far-right-forum-in-russia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/484167\/","title":{"rendered":"Hamburg AfD Ousts Member For Attending Far-Right Forum In Russia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Germany\u2019s Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) party in Hamburg has expelled local member Robert Risch from the city council after imagery analyzed by RFE\/RL showed he attended a far-right forum in Russia that brought together extreme right-wing politicians.<\/p>\n

Risch attended the conference in St. Petersburg on September 12, an examination of images showed<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

The organizers of the event included Konstantin Malofeyev, a Kremlin-connected tycoon under Western sanctions for involvement in Moscow\u2019s war of aggression against Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Less than a month later, on October 6, the AfD’s leadership unanimously decided to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Risch, said Dirk Nockemann, the leader of AfD Hamburg.<\/p>\n

Risch denied the allegations, saying the trip was private and that “a friend,” former Hamburg AfD council member Olga Petersen, had asked him to accompany her to an event.<\/p>\n

He added that Petersen\u2019s birthday fell on the same date as the conference and claimed he had no prior knowledge of the participants or the agenda.<\/p>\n

Risch further said he was “campaigning for peace” and could not be held responsible for those “who he sat in the same room with.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A collage of photographs that appear to show Hamburg city assembly member Robert Risch at a far-right conference in St. Petersburg, Russia.<\/p>\n

Exclusion proceedings against Petersen were also initiated. According to German media, she also attended the St. Petersburg event and now lives in Russia, publicly supporting the Russian government.<\/p>\n

In March 2024, Petersen acted as an observer at the election in which President Vladimir Putin secured a new term, and reportedly called the vote “open, democratic, and free.”<\/p>\n

In February, Petersen, who was born in Russia, posted photos showing her with Russian soldiers in a Russian-occupied part of Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Billed as the founding conference of an “international league of anti-globalists” called Paladins, the forum in St. Petersburg\u2019s ornate, Imperial-era Mariinsky Palace was also attended by far-right politicians from nations including France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, and South Africa.<\/p>\n