Overview
- Sascha Gläser, listed as the AfD direct candidate for Wahlkreis 7 in Mecklenburg‑Vorpommern, was reported to have carried out a bank robbery on December 19, 2012 and later admitted the act.
- The Amtsgericht Duisburg convicted Gläser on March 20, 2013 of severe robbery/extortion and sentenced him to two years and six months in prison, with reports saying the item shown during the robbery was not a real firearm.
- Because statutory rehabilitation periods have expired the 2013 conviction no longer appears on a current criminal record (Führungszeugnis), which party officials say explains why it was not flagged during list checks.
- The AfD state board says it was unaware of the conviction, has asked Gläser for a written statement, and reports he has told party officials he would decline any mandate if elected while the board decides on further steps.
- Opposition politicians criticized the nomination as irresponsible and called for a full accounting, a dispute that highlights tensions between legal reintegration of former offenders and parties’ vetting standards ahead of the state election.