BERLIN: In what the AfD on Thursday hailed as a partial win for its challenge to the ruling, Germany’s internal espionage agency BfV has postponed the designation of the party as an extremist group.
According to a court statement, the agency would not officially call the AfD a “confirmed right-wing extremist movement” until an administrative court in the western city of Cologne has made a decision regarding the AfD’s request for an injunction.
The BfV’s decision last week to label the far-right AfD extremist sparked strong reactions along German political fault lines. The AfD accused the party of attacking democracy, and several politicians demanded its outlawing.
The administration of US President Donald Trump also strongly criticised it, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging the German government to change their mind. By recruiting informants and intercepting party communications, for instance, the Cologne-based intelligence service is able to increase its surveillance on the AfD due to its extreme classification.
The measures associated with the classification will also be suspended,” a court official stated without elaborating. The 1,100-page specialists’ assessment from the agency, which will not be made public, concluded that the AfD is an anti-Muslim and racist group.
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