Matthias Helferich: According to the court ruling, AFD MP Helferich can remain in the party

AfD member of the Bundestag Matthias Helferich is allowed to remain in his party. The Federal Arbitration Court AfD decided not to expel the MP from the party, they reported World and the news agency dpa. It thereby overturned the earlier decision of the state arbitration court in North Rhine-Westphalia to follow the application of the AfD there to exclude Helferich from the party. This had called for the MP to be excluded because of his statements about National Socialism.

In its application, the regional association accused Helferich, among other things, of insulting people with a migrant background and violating their human dignity in various social media posts. In July 2025, the regional arbitration court in Düsseldorf decided to follow the application. “Migrants are described as ‘critters’ who have to be deported,” says the regional arbitration court’s ruling. “Humiliating unequal treatment is incompatible with human dignity.”

The Federal Arbitration Court now ruled that the state executive board was making it “too easy” for itself if it wanted to derive an anti-constitutional statement from the publication with the comments “Great” and “Remigration”. The chamber does not recognize any “equality that goes so far as to deny people their humanity,” it said.

Matthias Helferich was elected to the Bundestag as an AfD candidate in 2021. After internal party criticism of his statements on National Socialism However, he renounced membership at the time and remained in parliament as a non-attached member. In 2021 he was readmitted to the party.

This article will continue to be updated.