Germany’s 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.
Risch attended the conference in St. Petersburg on September 12, an examination of images showed.
The organizers of the event included Konstantin Malofeyev, a Kremlin-connected tycoon under Western sanctions for involvement in Moscow’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
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.
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.
He added that Petersen’s birthday fell on the same date as the conference and claimed he had no prior knowledge of the participants or the agenda.
Risch further said he was "campaigning for peace" and could not be held responsible for those "who he sat in the same room with."
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.
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."
In February, Petersen, who was born in Russia, posted photos showing her with Russian soldiers in a Russian-occupied part of Ukraine.
Billed as the founding conference of an "international league of anti-globalists" called Paladins, the forum in St. Petersburg’s ornate, Imperial-era Mariinsky Palace was also attended by far-right politicians from nations including France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, and South Africa.
