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Berlin / Mainz (dpa / lrs) - The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution has classified the entire AfD as a suspected right-wing extremist case.

This means that the party can now also be spied on using intelligence means.

According to information from the German Press Agency, the authority's president, Thomas Haldenwang, informed the state offices for the protection of the constitution on Wednesday in an internal video conference.

First, the «Spiegel» reported on the decision.

Due to ongoing legal proceedings, the Federal Office is currently not issuing a public statement on the question of the AfD's assessment.

"With a view to the ongoing proceedings and out of respect for the court, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution is not making a public statement on this matter," the Cologne authority said on request.

"The state authorities in the constitution protection group are bound by this," said the interior ministry in Mainz.

The decision did not have any consequences for the state elections on March 14, it said.

In surveys, the AfD is currently around nine percent.

In the state elections in 2016, it won 12.6 percent of the vote straight away, making it the third largest parliamentary group after the SPD and CDU.

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The Federal Office had given the Cologne administrative court extensive insight into its assessment of the AfD this week.

The AfD defends itself in an urgent procedure with legal means against a possible classification as a right-wing extremist suspected case.

In principle, this classification also enables informants to be recruited who report from the party to the domestic secret service.

The Office for the Protection of the Constitution had promised the court that it would not use intelligence services to monitor candidates and MPs of the party until the end of the urgent proceedings.

In addition, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution will refrain from publicly announcing until the end of the proceedings whether it classifies the AfD as a suspected case or a right-wing extremist tendency.

The court thereupon determined that, in view of the statements made by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, observation using intelligence means during the duration of the urgent proceedings could only affect the simple members of the party.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210303-99-667954 / 2