Administrative court - Verdict on AfD observation expected
The Munich Administrative Court announces its decision on Monday regarding whether the Bavarian Constitutional Protection Agency is allowed to monitor the AfD as a suspected right-wing extremist case. The Bavarian state branch of the party had sued the Free State of Bavaria. In this urgent matter, the party had lost in two instances.
The first substantive hearing was held on three hearing days in this otherwise nine-day scheduled procedure. The procedure was significantly accelerated after the AfD side waived its right to submit hundreds of previously announced evidence.
AfD state chairman Stephan Protschka had already stated at the beginning of the hearing that he did not expect a successful outcome of the lawsuit before the Administrative Court and announced that the party would appeal if the application was rejected.
The Bavarian Constitutional Protection Agency had announced in 2022 that it would monitor the party using intelligence services and make the results public. However, according to Constitutional Protection Agency sources, there has been no use of undercover agents or interception of communications up to a final judicial clarification.
From publicly accessible sources, the Constitutional Protection Agency has compiled thousands of pages - including chat protocols and speech extracts - which are intended to prove the constitutionally hostile orientation of the AfD and justify observation. The spectrum ranges from anti-foreigner and anti-Muslim statements to democratically hostile statements from AfD members and functionaries of the party.
The AfD side tried to represent these statements as outbursts of Individuals, with which the party as a whole had nothing to do. The party had taken action against the offenders, expelling or disciplining some party members.
- The Administrative Court in Munich is set to rule on whether Germany's Bavarian Constitutional Protection Agency can continue monitoring the AfD as a suspected case of extremism.
- The decision comes after the Bavarian branch of the AfD sued the Free State of Bavaria, losing in two previous instances.
- During the accelerated proceedings, the AfD waived its right to present hundreds of pieces of evidence, which could have delayed the process.
- Despite monitoring the party since 2022, the Bavarian Constitutional Protection Agency has not used undercover agents or intercepted communications, according to agency sources.
- The agency has compiled extensive evidence against the AfD, including thousands of pages of chat protocols and speech extracts, showing a pattern of extremist and anti-democratic statements by party members.
