German court backs intelligence agency’s designation of far-right party as suspected extremist case

Deputy federal spokesperson for Alternative for Germany party (AfD) Peter Boehringer, left, and assessor on the AfD’s federal executive board Roman Reusch stand in the courtroom before the verdict in the appeal proceedings in the dispute over the classification of the AfD by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution at the Higher Administrative Court for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, in Muenster, Germany, Monday May 13, 2024.(AP)

• The party could still seek to appeal the verdict at a federal court

BERLIN: Germany’s domestic intelligence agency was justified in designating the far-right Alternative for Germany as a suspected case of extremism, a court ruled Monday, rejecting an appeal from the opposition party.
The administrative court in Muenster ruled in favor of the BfV intelligence agency, upholding a 2022 decision by a lower court in Cologne, German news agency dpa reported. Alternative for Germany, or AfD, has rejected the designation strongly.
The party could still seek to appeal the verdict at a federal court.
AfD was formed in 2013 and has moved steadily to the right over the years. Its platform initially centered on opposition to bailouts for struggling eurozone members, but its vehement opposition to then-Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to allow in large numbers of refugees and other migrants in 2015 established the party as a significant political force.
AfD has been polling strongly in Germany in recent months as discontent is high with center-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party coalition government.
However, its support declined somewhat following a media report in January that extremists met to discuss the deportation of millions of immigrants, including some with German citizenship, and that some figures from the party attended. The report triggered mass protests in the country against the rise of the far-right.