German Police Raid AfD MEP's Property For The 22nd Time

German police conducted their twenty-second raid on the property of AfD MEP Petr Bystron. This action occurred while Bystron was in Washington D.C. meeting with Trump administration officials and congressmen. The raids are linked to allegations of Bystron's involvement with the defunct Voice of Europe website. Czech intelligence services previously released allegations against Bystron, which some believe were timed to damage the AfD before EU elections. These allegations include claims of a scheme to pay politicians for interviews with Voice of Europe, though no recordings have been publicly released. Bystron maintains that despite numerous searches, no incriminating evidence has been found. He also stated that his elderly mother, who has dementia, was subjected to a search and questioning. Bystron described the repeated searches as targeted terror against the opposition and a move away from a democratic state. This raid coincided with a German court rejecting an AfD appeal to overturn its designation as a suspected extremist party. This ruling allows domestic spy agencies to conduct enhanced surveillance on the AfD. The events have drawn concern from international commentators regarding Germany's methods for handling dissent.