The designation could allow Germany’s intelligence agency to surveil and investigate members of the far-right party. The AfD says it plans to appeal the ruling.
A higher regional court in western Germany rejected on Monday an appeal by the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party against its classification as a “suspected” far-right extremist organization.
The judges at the court in Münster said the designation was appropriate and did not violate the constitution or European law.
“The court finds there is sufficient evidence that the AfD pursues goals that run against the human dignity of certain groups and against democracy,” they wrote.
That’s a huge part of the reason why it took so long to put out that official classification: They made sure that their classification would hold up in court. No one is served by getting it in a bit earlier, just for it to be thrown out at the first level of court, because someone got a bit lazy on collecting all the evidence and writing up a thorough report.