Leipzig (dpa/sn) – Several parliamentary groups in the Saxon state parliament are sticking to the possibility of a judge’s indictment in order to prevent AfD politician Jens Maier from returning to the judiciary. “Should the transfer of retirement fail, we must continue to exhaust all instruments to prevent a right-wing extremist from administering justice again,” said the legal policy spokesman for the Greens, Valentin Lippmann. This Thursday, the Leipzig service court for judges is hearing whether Maier will be retired at the request of the Ministry of Justice.
The Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Saxony classifies Maier as a right-wing extremist. The AfD politician narrowly missed out on a mandate in the federal elections in 2021 and applied for his return to the Saxon judiciary. Born in Bremen, he worked as a judge at the Dresden District Court before becoming a member of parliament.
If the application for retirement fails, all activities will have to be restarted to prevent his return, Lippmann said. “Of course, this also includes the judge’s indictment, which we will then continue to push.” With such a lawsuit, the state parliament could appeal to the Federal Constitutional Court to have a judge transferred to another office or retired, or even to obtain his dismissal. However, this step requires a two-thirds majority in Parliament.
The SPD legal politician Hanka Kliese said that the outcome of the first hearing before the judge service court would be awaited. “Nothing has changed in our basic stance on the entire Maier case.”
The left parliamentary group leader Rico Gebhardt made a similar statement: If the court does not retire Maier, the parliamentary group is ready to support a judge’s indictment. “The rule of law guarantees pluralism of opinion, but a representative of the extreme right has no place on the bench.” Maier should never again administer justice “in the name of the people”.
