Another German court has upheld serious findings against a state level Alternative for Germany branch, citing evidence of contempt for human dignity and opposition to democratic and rule-of-law principles.
Lower Saxony’s Higher Administrative Court has backed an earlier ruling that there is sufficient evidence to indicate the state’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) branch is working against Germany’s free democratic order.
The decision does not ban the party, but it does mean that two courts in the state have now found enough evidence to justify treating the branch as an “object of observation of significant importance”.
In Lower Saxony this is effectively the equivalent of calling the party a “confirmed right-wing-extremist organisation”, as is done elsewhere in Germany.
In practice, this allows the state intelligence service to continue monitoring the branch using more extensive surveillance powers.
What evidence convinced the court?
The judges found that Lower Saxony’s AfD branch promotes an ethnic and ancestry-based idea of who belongs to the German people.
According to the court, this conflicts with the Basic Law’s equal understanding of German citizenship and is reflected in the systematic denigration and exclusion of Germans with migrant backgrounds, particularly Muslims.
The court also found evidence of hostility towards democracy and the rule of law. It said the branch disparaged state institutions, portrayed Germany’s democratic system as a failure, and sought to undermine confidence in elected representatives and parliamentary democracy.
Finally the court noted the branch’s connections to far-right organisations and forces, particularly those linked to the New Right.
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What does that mean in practice?
An intelligence classification is not a criminal conviction or a party ban. The AfD remains free to campaign, contest elections and sit in parliament.
It does, however, allow Lower Saxony’s Office for the Protection of the Constitution to continue treating the branch as a confirmed observation target. The agency may use intelligence methods authorised by law – including, where the legal conditions are met, informants and telephone interception.
In other words, the finding has both political and practical force.
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An on-going dispute
In February this year, Lower Saxony’s intelligence service upgraded the state AfD branch from a suspected case to an “object of observation of significant importance” – a category corresponding to confirmed right-wing-extremist status in other states.
Faced with the prospect of stronger surveillance while its main lawsuit against the designation was pending, the party asked Hanover Administrative Court for an emergency pause.
That court refused the request on June 1st.
The AfD then appealed to the Higher Administrative Court in Lüneburg, where it has now lost again. The decision is final within the emergency proceedings.
But this doesn’t conclude the wider legal battle.
A separate, more detailed case is still before Hanover Administrative Court. Known as the Hauptsacheverfahren, or main proceedings, it will decide on whether the classification was lawful – rather than simply on what should happen while the dispute is being resolved.
While the court in the main case could still reach a different conclusion, the latest ruling is a serious setback for the far-right party. Two courts have now examined the intelligence service’s evidence and refused to suspend the classification.
The higher classification is now likely to remain in place at least until the main lawsuit is decided. The intelligence service can therefore continue using surveillance methods permitted by law, including informants and telephone interception where the relevant legal conditions are met.
The AfD rejects the authorities’ conclusions.
Deputy state chairman Stephan Bothe accused the intelligence service of being used politically and described its assessment as “far-fetched speculation”.
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Part of a bigger picture
Nationally, the legal position is different. The AfD, at the federal level, is currently treated as a suspected extremist despite an attempt by Germany’s federal domestic intelligence agency (BfV) to move to the higher, “confirmed extremist” designation in May 2025.
On February 26th this year, the Cologne Administrative Court suspended the higher designation and barred the BfV from treating or publicly describing the federal party as confirmed right-wing extremist until completion of the main proceedings.
Even so, that court found a continuing strong suspicion of anti-constitutional activity within the party.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: thelocal.de
