Overview

• The AfD in Lower Saxony’s state parliament introduced a draft constitutional amendment to make MPs’ statements outside Landtag sessions immune from prosecution
• Existing indemnity under article 14 of Lower Saxony’s constitution protects only statements made within the Landtag, its committees or parliamentary groups
• SPD parliamentary manager Wiard Siebels denounces the plan as a free pass for hate and incitement by party officials
• Two investigations target AfD MP Vanessa Behrendt for suspected incitement to hatred after labeling the rainbow flag a pedophilic lobby symbol and sharing a complainant’s address
• AfD interior policy spokesman Stephan Bothe argues the amendment is vital for MPs to exercise their free mandate and accuses the federal hate-crime unit of overreach