AfD resists observation by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution
The Southwest AfD wants to go to the next instance in the dispute over the observation of the party by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Baden-Württemberg. The party decided this week to lodge an appeal with the Administrative Court in Mannheim, said party co-chairman Emil Sänze on Wednesday in Stuttgart. This concerns an urgent appeal that was rejected by the Stuttgart Administrative Court last week. The party wants to defend itself against observation by the Baden-Württemberg Office for the Protection of the Constitution as a suspected right-wing extremist.
Sänze criticized the fact that the evidence cited related more to members who had already left the party. Furthermore, not all AfD state associations are monitored by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. "Baden-Württemberg is not responsible for statements made by some crude members in Germany," said Sänze. Co-state chairman Markus Frohnmaier said that the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution was being misused and was acting as a democracy test.
In July 2022, the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution declared the AfD state association a suspected object of observation and made this public in a press release. The AfD filed a lawsuit against the observation and the public announcement (case no. 1 K 166/23) and filed an application for interim legal protection (case no. 1 K 167/23).
The AfD is currently challenging the observation of its state association in Baden-Württemberg at the Administrative Court in Mannheim, as they Believe the evidence used relates more to former members and not the party's current processes as outlined in the Constitution. The rejection of their urgent appeal by the Stuttgart Administrative Court last week has prompted this legal action, aiming to defend against the label of a suspected right-wing extremist party by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
The decisions and judgments surrounding the observation of the AfD have sparked debates within the party, with co-state chairman Markus Frohnmaier accusing the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution of being misused as a democracy test. The AfD has taken legal action against the observation and the public announcement, citing their Constitutional right to freedom of association and political expression.
Source: www.dpa.com
