Germany's far-right AfD party officially classified as 'extremist' group

The AfD is the second-largest party in the country and has been supported by the likes of Elon Musk in recent months.

This new policy will make the AfD subject to greater and broader surveillance of its activities.

The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution found that the party does not consider people with "a migration history from predominantly Muslim countries to be equal members of the German people" based on ethnicity.

The office, which has warned of growing extremism in Germany, cited court decisions in two German regions in recent years that detailed party efforts to undermine a free and democratic order.

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The party "aims to exclude certain population groups from equal participation in society, to subject them to unconstitutional unequal treatment and thus to assign them a legally devalued status", it said.

Germany's move to classify the AfD as a right-wing extremist group means its officials can now use informants and other tools such as audio and video recordings to monitor its activities nationwide.

But it also risks fuelling the party's claims of political persecution. Far-right parties have been gaining ground across Europe and the AfD attracts international attention, including support from tech billionaire Elon Musk, who is a close ally of President Donald Trump.

Party leaders Alice Weidel - who met with US Vice President JD Vance after the February elections - and Tino Chrupalla condemned the move as "a severe blow to German democracy" given that the party has grown into one of the country's most popular political forces. They alleged that it was politically motivated, a claim the government denies.

"The AfD will continue to legally defend itself against these democracy-endangering defamations," they said.

AfD was formed in 2013 and has moved steadily to the right over the years. Its platform initially centred on opposition to bailouts for struggling eurozone members, but its vehement opposition to then-chancellor Angela Merkel's decision to allow large numbers of refugees into Germany in 2015 established the party as a significant political force.

The state domestic intelligence offices in Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt had already classified the respective AfD state associations as "proven right-wing extremist" groups.

In its ruling, the intelligence service said that AfD's understanding of German identity as being based on ethnicity is "incompatible with the free democratic basic order".

"It aims to exclude certain population groups from equal participation in society, subject them to unconstitutional discrimination, and thus assign them a legally devalued status," it said.

"Specifically, for example, the AfD does not consider German citizens with a migration history from predominantly Muslim countries to be equal members of the German people, as defined ethnically by the party."

It added that the party's political positions have underpinned "continuous agitation" against minorities and stirred fear and hostility toward them.

"This is evident in the numerous xenophobic, anti-minority, anti-Islamic, and anti-Muslim statements continually made by leading party officials," it said.

The party had already come under scrutiny from the BfV for its links to extremists and its ties to Russia. Of the 38,800 far-right extremists counted by the agency last year, more than 10,000 are members of the party.

Nancy Faeser, the interior minister, said in a statement that the classification was "clear and unambiguous" and had resulted from a 1,100-page "comprehensive and neutral audit" that had no political influence.

Under the move, any surveillance of AfD activities must abide by a "principle of proportionality" under German law.

The measure does not amount to a ban of the party, which can only take place through a request by either of parliament's two chambers, or the federal government through the Federal Constitutional Court.