‘We have learnt from our history that rightwing extremism needs to be stopped,’ Germany’s foreign ministry says.The Alternative for Germany (AfD) has launched a legal challenge against Germany’s domestic intelligence agency for designating the far-right party an “extremist” organisation.
A spokesperson for the administrative court in Cologne confirmed on Monday that the AfD had submitted both a lawsuit and an emergency petition in response to the decision by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV).
Germany, meanwhile, hit back at President Donald Trump’s administration in the United States over its criticism of the classification, suggesting officials in Washington should study history.
The Cologne court will begin reviewing the case once the BfV confirms that it has been notified of the filings.
The AfD had earlier denounced the designation as a politically driven attempt to marginalise the party.
“With our lawsuit, we are sending a clear signal against the abuse of state power to combat and exclude the opposition,” party co-leaders Tino Chrupalla and Alice Weidel said on Monday, alleging that the classification was an effort to “distort democratic competition and delegitimise millions of votes”. Advertisement
Pivotal moment
The classification, announced on Friday, gives Germany’s intelligence agency the power to surveil the AfD, the largest opposition party in parliament.
These powers include deploying informants and intercepting internal party communications.
A 1,100-page report compiled by the agency – that will not be made public – concluded that the AfD is a racist and anti-Muslim organisation.
The move came at a pivotal moment in German polit …
