Germany’s top administrative court has rejected the right-wing Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party’s attempt to fight its classification as a ‘suspected extremist’ group.
The ruling means the party can officially be monitored by the country’s domestic intelligence agency, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV).
The case began when the BfV labeled the AfD, its now-disbanded youth wing Junge Alternative, and the “far-right” faction ‘Der Flügel’ as “potential threats to Germany’s democratic order.”
A regional court in Münster upheld this decision in 2024, and now the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig has refused to allow any further appeals. The court said there is enough evidence suggesting anti-democratic tendencies in the party’s platform.
The BfV is now free to continue surveillance, including tapping phones and using informants.
Meanwhile, the BfV’s ‘suspected’ designation was upgraded in May to a ‘confirmed extremist’ classification, but that has been suspended pending a court ruling that might take years to be issued.
The party, which is now the country’s second strongest political force, has been unfairly targeted for years for political reasons, with the ruling elites using legal tools to try and undermine the AfD’s legitimacy.
