Court Halts AfD Extremist Classification

A Cologne administrative court issued a preliminary injunction forbidding the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) from labelling Alternative für Deutschland as a 'confirmed right‑wing extremist' organisation while litigation proceeds. The ruling follows publication of a leaked 1,000‑page BfV dossier whose evidentiary basis (largely public social‑media material) undermined the agency’s upgrade and helped collapse political momentum toward a ban. — This legal check constrains how intelligence agencies can weaponize secrecy and classification to shape party politics, with implications for party‑banning, civil‑service vetting, and the oversight of domestic spy agencies.