BERLIN (AP) 鈥� A German court said Thursday that the country’s domestic intelligence agency can’t label the party a proven right-wing extremist group while it considers a complaint by the opposition party against last year’s designation.
The BfV intelligence agency on Alternative for Germany, or AfD, in May. It described the party as a threat to the country鈥檚 democratic order, saying it 鈥渄isregards human dignity鈥� 鈥� in particular by what it called 鈥渙ngoing agitation鈥� against refugees and migrants.
AfD swiftly to the administrative court in Cologne, where the agency is based. The agency then , which would allow it to carry out greater and broader surveillance of the party’s activities, pending a ruling from the court.
The court said it issued an injunction Thursday that blocks the BfV from designating and treating AfD as a proven right-wing extremist group until it has issued a definitive ruling on the party’s lawsuit. It said it isn’t yet clear when it will deliver that ruling.
A court statement said that, on its examination of the evidence so far, it is sufficiently certain that there are 鈥渆fforts against the free democratic fundamental order鈥� inside the party. But it said those efforts don’t characterize the party in a such a way that 鈥渁 fundamental anticonstitutional tendency can be established in its overall picture.鈥�
AfD finished a year ago. It is now the biggest opposition party in the national parliament and it hopes to perform well in a string of state elections this year.
The U.S. administration last year criticized the designation by the intelligence service, prompting a retort from the German Foreign Ministry.
AfD co-leader Alice Weidel described Thursday’s ruling in a post on X as 鈥渁 great victory not just for AfD, but also for democracy and the rule of law!鈥�
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