AfD: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies party as right-wing extremist nationwide

After media reports in February 2021 about the alleged classification of the entire party as a so-called suspected case of right-wing extremism, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution had to wait about a year at the behest of the Cologne Administrative Court before it could make this assessment public and monitor the party accordingly. In May 2024, the Münster Higher Administrative Court ruled that the Office for the Protection of the Constitution was right to classify the AfD as a suspected case of right-wing extremism. The legal dispute is still ongoing.

Use of informants possible

Even in cases of suspected surveillance, the use of intelligence resources is permitted. These include the use of so-called informants—people with access to internal information. Observations and audio and video recordings are also permitted. However, the principle of proportionality must be observed when selecting and using these resources.