(de-news.net) – A spokesperson for Alternative for Germany (AfD) Chairperson Alice Weidel stated that a formal challenge had been submitted to the Cologne Administrative Court. The legal dispute with the German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) centers on the party’s classification as “confirmed right-wing extremist.” The complaint by the AfD included an urgent application to expedite proceedings, with party representatives arguing that the reclassification constitutes unlawful interference in democratic competition. Party leaders Tino Chrupalla and Weidel emphasized their commitment to exhausting all legal remedies.

The BfV justified the reclassification by citing ideological positions it deemed incompatible with human dignity and democratic principles. It argued that the party promotes an exclusionary concept of national identity aimed at limiting equal societal participation for specific demographic groups. The agency further asserted that this stance could lead to unconstitutional discrimination, relegating affected individuals to an inferior legal status. Officials claimed that the AfD views German citizens with migration backgrounds, particularly from Muslim-majority countries, as unequal members of a purportedly ethnically defined German nation, which they contended serves as the foundation for ongoing political agitation against select groups.

Previously, the BfV had categorized the AfD as only a suspected case, but its recent decision intensified debates about a potential party prohibition. Some politicians, particularly within the Christian Democratic Union, criticized such measures, favoring voter persuasion through political discourse, while others advocated reassessing the legal grounds for a ban.