MOSCOW, June 1. /TASS/. Hamburg lawmaker Olga Petersen, who monitored the Russian presidential election in March as an observer, was forced to leave Germany, after which she settled in Russia, Alexander Brod, a member of the Russian Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights and chairman of the Independent Public Monitoring Association, told TASS.

It was previously reported that the Hamburg branch of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party had initiated proceedings to expel Petersen from the party. Before that, the lawmaker was excluded from the AfD parliamentary group.

"Juvenile bodies were engaged to take three minor children out of the family, and media harassment was unleashed. As a result, she and her children were forced to leave Germany and settle in Russia," Brod said.

He was indignant at the incident and said that as a member of the Human Rights Council and the chairman of the association, he and his colleagues will help Petersen with legal counseling, required documents and employment.

"These events are reminiscent of the atmosphere in Nazi Germany, when unbearable conditions were created in the country for figures of culture, science, law, and the best of German intellectuals had to flee the country," Brod said.