AfD warns government - Ministry of the Interior reacts calmly

The AfD in Saxony wants to issue a warning to the state government because the Office for the Protection of the Constitution classified the state association as "certainly right-wing extremist" two years ago. In the opinion of AfD state leader Jörg Urban, this is "legally untenable". However, two courts have already confirmed the classification.

AfD sees statements misinterpreted

"Statements were arbitrarily interpreted to our disadvantage. And they were interpreted non-stop," argued Urban. For example, the term "international financial elite" was stigmatized as anti-Semitic, although this formulation is commonplace in political discourse.

"According to case law, it is mandatory that legal assessments must always be interpreted in the sense of freedom of expression if different interpretations are possible," emphasized AfD lawyer Joachim M. Keiler. "This was grossly disregarded by the Ministry of the Interior and the authorities."

Further aggravating the situation from the AfD's point of view is the fact that the full report by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution was not published. "It's like accusing someone of theft without revealing what was stolen," they said.

Ministry of the Interior clarifies course of the dispute

The Ministry of the Interior reacted calmly. "The Saxon state association of the AfD has been granted access to the expert opinion in question as part of the interim legal protection proceedings it has initiated against the upgrade to 'secured right-wing extremist endeavor' in accordance with the possibilities in the process," ministry spokesman Martin Strunden told the German Press Agency.

The Ministry of the Interior had won these summary proceedings in both instances before the Dresden Administrative Court and the Bautzen Higher Administrative Court (OVG), Strunden emphasized. "Following the conclusion of the interim legal protection proceedings, the Saxon state association of the AfD did not pursue proceedings on the merits."

Courts rule against the AfD

In January 2020, the Higher Administrative Court in Bautzen ruled that the Saxon State Office for the Protection of the Constitution may classify the AfD state association as a confirmed right-wing extremist organization. The court thus dismissed an appeal by the AfD against a decision by the Dresden Administrative Court. According to the judges, there were sufficient factual indications that the AfD state association was pursuing efforts that were directed against the human dignity of certain groups of people and against the principle of democracy, according to the reasoning at the time.

The Saxon AfD has now announced a lawsuit if the classification is not reversed and published.