Protests in Germany for the Ban of the Far-Right AfD Party
Several thousand people, including 3,000 in Berlin according to police data, gathered across Germany demanding a ban on the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD), after the party challenged the domestic intelligence service's decision to classify it as a right-wing "extremist" party.
Demonstrators gathered in more than 60 cities, from Cologne to Hamburg, including in Berlin, at the call of the network "Together Against the Right" (Zusammen gegen Rechts).
"AfD is not a normal party and should not be treated as such. Now is the time to seriously consider banning the party," it says on their website – reports N1.
In Berlin, the gathering near the iconic Brandenburg Gate attracted more than 7,000 people in the afternoon, according to organizers, while police reported 3,000 attendees.
The crowd chanted "All together against fascism," waving rainbow flags and banners against the party that won 20 percent of the vote in the last parliamentary elections.
A few days before the inauguration of the new chancellor, conservative Friedrich Merz, the domestic intelligence service classified AfD as a right-wing "extremist" party that could pose a threat to the democratic order.
On Thursday, the German intelligence service temporarily suspended this decision pending a court ruling, as the party filed an appeal.
The decision has already caused significant political tensions, especially in relations with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, which sided with the AfD.
