Essen court orders Grugahalle venue to permit AfD event.
The AfD secures a win in court against Essen: The city is required to offer the right-wing party a venue for their conference. The judges determined the party should not be treated any differently.
The city of Essen is obligated to give the AfD the Grugahalle for their federal party conference in late June, states the Administrative Court of Gelsenkirchen. Although this ruling is not legally binding yet, both parties can still appeal it at the Higher Administrative Court of North Rhine-Westphalia in Münster (case numbers: 15 L 888/24 and 15 L 881/24).
The 15th Chamber reached the conclusion that the AfD has the right to equivalent treatment in permission to access public facilities such as the Grugahalle. The party should not receive special treatment when compared to other political parties, as explained in the court's verdict.
Deputy federal spokesperson for the AfD, Peter Boehringer, commented, "The court's decision makes sense and is appropriate. Essen aimed to establish an 'AfD-specific law.' The court now blocked this from occurring." Justice has prevailed.
Denial of access should only occur when there's an apparent risk of criminal activity. A higher bar should be set when assessing this question for political parties. However, the court couldn't find enough factual evidence showing it's highly probable there'll be law infractions. The case regarding the federal party conference is still ongoing at the Essen District Court. The court will determine the civil lawsuit in a scheduled oral hearing on Monday.
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At the upcoming federal party conference in Essen (NRW), the AfD will utilize the Grugahalle, as ordered by the Administrative Court of Gelsenkirchen. Despite the possibility of an appeal at the Higher Administrative Court of North Rhine-Westphalia, the AfD has secured the right to conduct their party processes under comparable conditions to other political parties.
