World

German Court Bans AfD Members From Owning Firearms on Extremism Claims

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - A court in Germany ruled on Monday that members of the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party could not own firearms, citing the party's potential "anti-constitutional" behavior.
Sputnik
"The fact that the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies a political party as a suspected case of anti-constitutional activities means as a rule ... that its members are considered to be too unreliable to possess firearms," the ruling read.
The Dusseldorf Administrative Court thus ruled to dismiss a complaint filed by two AfD members who had their gun permits voided. The married couple, who the court says own 224 guns between them, were ordered to hand over or destroy their arsenal and ammunition.
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The verdict can be appealed in a higher regional court, given its legal implications for other AfD members, the Dusseldorf court said.
The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), the German domestic security agency, labeled AfD branches in the states of Saxony, Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt as right-wing extremists last year.
Despite this, AfD came second in the European Parliament polls in Germany in June, overtaking Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left Social Democrats. AfD stands for tougher migration controls and a negotiated solution to the conflict in Ukraine.
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