Defeat in court
Verdict: AfD rightly suspected of being right-wing extremists
May 13, 2024, 9:10 a.m
The AfD suffers a defeat in the dispute over the classification as a suspected case by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. The Münster Higher Administrative Court dismisses her appeal. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution is allowed to continue to monitor the party for intelligence purposes.
According to a ruling by the North Rhine-Westphalia Higher Administrative Court, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution rightly classified the AfD as a suspected right-wing extremist case. The court in Münster has thus confirmed a judgment from the lower court. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution may therefore continue to use intelligence resources to monitor the party.
The verdict is not yet legally binding. Although the OVG did not allow an appeal, the AfD can submit an application for approval to the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig. The AfD’s lawyers have already announced this.
A total of three appeals were heard before the OVG Münster: the classification of the AfD and its youth organization as a suspected case and the classification of the association around the Thuringian right-wing extremist Björn Höcke as a confirmed extremist effort. However, the “wing” has now officially been dissolved. In fact, this group dominates the party.
The suspected case is the preliminary stage before the classification as confirmed extremist. As with the “wing”, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution has already taken this step with regard to the AfD youth organization. He is expected for the entire party after the Münster verdict.
In the first instance, the Cologne Administrative Court ruled in favor of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution: the people of Cologne also saw sufficient evidence of anti-constitutional efforts within the AfD. According to the judgment that has now been announced, the OVG shares this opinion. The AfD’s lawsuits were directed against the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. Because the Federal Office is based in Cologne, the courts in North Rhine-Westphalia are responsible.
Faeser appreciates the verdict
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser praised the verdict. It shows that Germany is “a well-fortified democracy.” “Our constitutional state has instruments that protect our democracy from threats from within. It is precisely these instruments that are used – and have now been confirmed again by an independent court.”
Achim Post, chairman of the SPD in North Rhine-Westphalia, said: “Today’s judgment by the OVG Münster is consistent and at the same time not surprising. The AfD’s involvement and intentional proximity to right-wing extremism is structural, as the recently published research on the more than 100 right-wing extremist employees in the ranks of the AfD parliamentary group.”
Post is now calling for tough measures: In light of the verdict, all other constitutional instruments must now be seriously discussed and examined “in order to protect our democracy and our free coexistence from the AfD. This also includes the debate about a possible AfD ban procedure.”