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German MFA responds to Rubio’s criticism about move to classify AfG as extremist party

"This decision is the result of a thorough and independent investigation to protect our Constitution and the rule of law," the ministry said

BERLIN, May 3. /TASS/. The German Foreign Ministry rejected US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's criticism of the move of the German domestic intelligence service to list the Alternative for Germany party as a right-wing extremist organization.

"This is democracy. This decision is the result of a thorough and independent investigation to protect our Constitution and the rule of law," the ministry said on X. "It is independent courts that will have the final say. We have learnt from our history that rightwing extremism needs to be stopped."

Rubio previously blasted the move, saying in an X post, "That’s not democracy - it’s tyranny in disguise."

Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution labeled the Alternative for Germany as an extremist organization on Friday, saying its ideas are not consistent with democratic freedoms. The move allows the authorities to surveil party members, using such measures as phone tapping, but doesn’t outlaw the organization, leaving the decision up to the Federal Constitutional Court. If the court bans AfD, it will be the third party to be banned in Germany after the Socialist Reich Party, which united former Nazis and was banned in 1952, and the Communist Party of Germany that was banned in 1956.

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