Germany: Anti-immigration AfD party labeled 'suspected case', paves way for mass surveillance of members in Saxony-Anhalt

In a case that raises questions about civil liberties and democratic norms in Germany, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Saxony-Anhalt has classified the Alternative for Germany party (AfD) as a "suspected case", which means German intelligence services are permitted to place the 2,200 party members in the eastern state under extreme surveillance.

As the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung reported, this surveillance includes, among other things, the recruitment and use of informants, the tracking of financial flows, as well as wiretapping, reading, and monitoring the communication of AfD members and officials.

After Thuringia and Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt is the third state in which the party will be observed by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as a "suspected case", according to Junge Freiheit. All three eastern states are where support for the AfD are the strongest in Germany. The report indicates that this status has been in place since Jan. 12. As a reason behind its decision, the Office accused the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt of attacks on human dignity and rejecting the democratic rule of law.

At the same time, the move is expected to have a chilling effect on the party and intimidate its supporters, especially members who now would have to fear constant monitoring of their private communications. While the AfD garners only 10 percent of support in nationwide polls, in Saxony-Anhalt, the party earned over 27 percent in the 2019 elections, making it the second stronger party in that German state.