German Secret Service Classifies Nationalist AfD Party As A “Suspect Case”

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Alternative for Germany

The right-wing nationalist party, Alternative for Germany (AfD) has been classified by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) as a “suspect case.”

With this new classification, the AfD will now be regularly monitored by the BfV which functions as Germany’s equivalent of a secret service, on whether their “suspicion” is substantiated.

According to the secret service, suspect cases include organizations that are not clearly extremist in nature or purpose, but for which there is “real evidence” of anti-constitutional aspirations. 

Groups or persons falling under this category will be subjected to surveillance.

Thomas Haldenwang, President of the BfV justified the decision of the group as merely complying with its directives:

“BfV has strictly kept to its statutory tasks in its assessment. As the ‘early warning system’ of democracy, BfV and the LfVs are obliged to take action if there is actual evidence indicating a party’s anti-constitutional orientation or that of parts of the party.”

BfV has now classified the youth movement of the AfD including the Thuringian AFD boss and faction leader Björn Höcke as subject of surveillance.

Höcke was not surprised by the classification and called the statements by the secret service as regretful. The AfD official posted the following statement on Twitter:

“I’m already sorry for the officials who have to kill their time looking for things that do not exist.”

AfD chief Alexander Gauland denounced the decision of the secret service and announced that it would take legal action against the move:

“Thank God, we are still living in a constitutional state and will take legal action against this type of suspicion test! Mr. Haldenwang’s reasoning is not sustainable … We think the decision of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution is wrong. We will take legal action against it. We consider the arguments to be unsustainable, throughout. We believe that political pressure has led to this.”

AFD Group leader Alice Weidel also dismissed allegations:

“The fake news and false allegations about manhunts in Chemnitz by AfD supporters were only advanced to get rid of former BfV President Hans-Georg Maassen.”

The BfV’s decision to classify the fast-rising AfV as a “suspect case” is nothing more than a smear campaign from an agency desperate to reclaim old glory that had been crushed by the wave of nationalism in 2016.

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