Germany’s far-right AfD get together introduced Monday it’s suing the nation’s home intelligence company over its designation as a “right-wing extremist” group, a label that has triggered diplomatic tensions between Berlin and Washington.
A spokesperson for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) mentioned the get together had filed a problem in opposition to the BfV company’s designation with the executive courtroom in Cologne, western Germany.
The BfV mentioned Friday it thought-about the AfD a “confirmed” right-wing extremist group, citing the “xenophobic, anti-minority, Islamophobic and anti-Muslim statements made by leading party officials.”
The classification will assist authorities search higher powers to watch the get together with telephone faucets and undercover brokers, fueling contemporary requires an outright ban.
Members of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration had been fast to defend the AfD within the wake of the BfV’s choice.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance described the AfD, which, like Trump, has campaigned in opposition to immigration, as “the most popular party in Germany.”
The AfD got here second in Germany’s federal elections in February with just below 21%, behind the conservative CDU-CSU which gained almost 29%.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio known as the intelligence company’s transfer “tyranny in disguise” and mentioned “Germany should reverse course.”
Germany simply gave its spy company new powers to surveil the opposition. That’s not democracy—it’s tyranny in disguise.
What is really extremist shouldn’t be the favored AfD—which took second within the current election—however moderately the institution’s lethal open border immigration insurance policies…
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) May 2, 2025
The German Foreign Ministry took the weird step of replying on to Rubio on X to say: “This is democracy.”
It careworn the BfV’s transfer was “the result of a thorough and independent investigation to protect our constitution.”
Source: www.dailysabah.com