German AfD parliamentarian Maier receives warning for racist tweet

BERLIN, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- German parliamentarian and member of the right-wing, populist Alternative for Germany party (AfD) Jens Maier has been issued a warning by his own party for tweeting a racist comment aimed at Noah Becker, the son of former tennis professional Boris Becker.

According to information from the AfD, the party's federal executive committee decided unanimously on Monday to issue the warning. Maier was also asked to be more diligent in selecting and managing his employees in the future. The Saxon AfD politician does not have to expect party exclusion proceedings.

The comment released via Maier's Twitter account read "The little half-negro just seems to have received too little attention, his behavior cannot be explained otherwise." The tweet referred to an interview in which Noah Becker had stated that Berlin was a "white city" compared to London or Paris. Becker himself had already allegedly been attacked because of his skin color.

The AfD parliamentarian stated that the tweet had been crafted by an employee. Maier wants to apologize to Noah Becker. Maier announced on Monday that he has since terminated the employment relationship with this employee. He explained, "This tweet not only contradicts my style, it does not reflect my thoughts."

Boris Becker labeled the incident "clearly racist" and the family lawyer Christian-Oliver Moser has taken the necessary steps to initiate criminal proceedings. The tweet was subsequently deleted. In a column published in the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag Boris Becker wrote "That's what the AfD always does; it's their trick: put something out there in the world and then distance yourself from it."

The incident is likely to provide grounds for discussion within the AfD parliamentary group in the coming weeks. Maier was a civil judge in Saxony before his entry into the German parliament. He belongs to the right wing of the party surrounding the Thuringia parliamentary leader Bjoern Hoecke. The head of the German Association of Judges, Jens Gnisa, condemned the tweet as completely unacceptable. Enditem