An official from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has been fired after he was reportedly caught saying migrants coming to the country “could still be shot later on…or gassed.”
On Monday the party confirmed Christian Lueth’s contract had been terminated.
Lueth was already suspended from his post as parliamentary spokesman in April after allegedly describing himself as a “fascist”.
Newspaper Die Zeit reported the comments were captured by undercover journalists while Lueth was talking to a young blogger in February.
The meeting was secretly filmed by broadcaster ProSieben for a documentary to be aired Monday about Germany’s far right.
The speaker’s face wasn’t shown in the footage but Die Zeit reported it was Lueth, based on “a data leak and several conversations with informants”.
AfD runs on a platform of anti-immigration and anti-Islam rhetoric, and saw a surge in support when hundreds of thousands of refugees were allowed to come into Germany in 2015.
It is currently the largest opposition party in the national legislature.
Lueth declined to comment, saying he planned to issue a statement on Tuesday.
AfD has come under heightened scrutiny from Germany’s domestic intelligence agency amid concern that some factions are flirting with extremism, a charge the party denies.
On Monday, AfD’s parliamentary caucus in the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg kicked out lawmaker Stefan Raepple after he reportedly called for the violent overthrow of the government.
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