Dhe fact that the Frankfurt FDP politician Michael Rubin is on the Russian government's wanted list shocked not only him, but also the Frankfurt FDP. “The party is taking this seriously,” said party leader Thorsten Lieb: “We are worried about our long-standing board member.” The Frankfurt party leadership hastily gathered the board on Thursday evening to talk about the procedure.
“Rubin can be sure of our unrestricted solidarity,” said city councilor and party executive member Stephanie Wüst. You can reach him at any time. “Rubin himself and what he does is so important.”
“We Free Democrats stand behind Michael Rubin,” said state leader Bettina Stark-Watzinger. He is a convinced democrat and has long been committed to human rights and freedom of expression in Belarus. “Our society needs courageous people like him.”
“We are afraid for him”
For Stefan Naas, FDP parliamentary group leader in the Hessian state parliament, Rubin is a “prominent member of the Liberals”. After the news of the death of the Russian Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalnyj, the FDP in the state parliament is even more worried about the 51-year-old Frankfurt FDP politician. “We are afraid for him,” said Naas. The group took Rubin's security into account and established contact with Hesse's interior minister.
Rubin himself remained silent on Friday. Citing his security situation, he did not want to hold any more talks. The day before, he had told the FAZ in an interview that not much would change for him, even if he was on the wanted list. He will continue to work for his home country, “but of course he will now have to be more careful.”
Rubin has Belarusian roots, but has had a German passport for 25 years. He has been campaigning against the dictator of his home country, Alexandr Lukashenko, for years and has campaigned for imprisoned politicians in Russia. In Frankfurt he organized protests against pro-Russian demonstrations after the outbreak of war in April 2022. So far, Rubin is the only German politician on the wanted list.
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