Court: Far-right AfD in German state of Saxony is an extremist group

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party organization in the eastern German state of Saxony can be designated as a known far-right extremist group, an appeals court ruled on Tuesday.

The party has been fighting a legal battle against the designation by Saxony's domestic intelligence agency.

In a final decision on Tuesday, the Saxon Higher Administrative Court (OVG) confirmed that there is sufficient factual evidence that the AfD's party organization in Saxony is campaigning against the human dignity of certain groups of people and against the principle of democracy.

The designation allows security authorities to conduct more extensive surveillance of the party, including the possible use of undercover informants.

German law allows such measures in an effort to safeguard the country's democratic order and institutions.

The AfD took second place in September state parliamentary elections in Saxony, only very narrowly behind the centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU).

Across Germany, polls have also put the AfD in second place behind the CDU ahead of national elections on February 23.

Saxony's State Office for the Protection of the Constitution had classified the AfD in Saxony as a "confirmed right-wing extremist organization" in December 2023.

State-level AfD party groups in several other German states have also been given the same designation, and the national AfD party is currently being investigated by Germany's federal domestic intelligence agency as a suspected extremist group.