AfD settles Heino election-ad dispute in Innsbruck court

The AfD Uckermark will pay singer Heino a substantial sum in the four-figure range under a settlement ending their legal dispute over election advertising, ORF reported. Heino’s manager, Helmut Werner, said the AfD politician Felix Teichner had also apologised.

“That settles the matter for us,” Werner told the German Press Agency. Teichner, a member of the Brandenburg state parliament, said he would not comment on the settlement. AfD state chairman Rene Springer also declined to comment.

Heino had filed a claim for 30,000 euros in non-material damages at the Innsbruck Regional Court. In April, ahead of a district council election in Uckermark, Teichner had written on social media: “On Sunday, Heino would vote for Felix.” Heino would not have done so, Werner said at the time.

Werner said the AfD’s campaign material risked placing Heino in the political far right, where he did not belong. He described the settlement as a signal against unauthorised election advertising and a lesson for all parties. Heino lives in Kitzbühel.