Wiesbaden Administrative Court: AfD Hesse remains right-wing extremist suspected case

The court based its decision primarily on the legally binding classification of the federal AfD party as a suspected case. It stated that there were no sufficient grounds to suggest that the Hessian state association significantly distances itself from the federal party. Furthermore, the chamber also sees specific regional grounds that indicate efforts within the Hessian AfD directed against the free democratic basic order. Therefore, in the court's opinion, there is a basis for observation both nationwide and specific to Hesse.

As early as November 2023, the Wiesbaden Administrative Court had ruled in favor of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution in an expedited proceeding, confirming the classification as a suspected case. This decision was upheld in the second instance by the Kassel Higher Administrative Court in September 2025. With the current judgment in the main proceedings, the substantive review is now also complete, meaning the classification as a suspected case and the observation using intelligence methods are judicially secured definitively.

Unlawful Press Release from 2022

At the same time, the court largely sided with the AfD on one significant point: the press release issued by the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the Hessian Ministry of the Interior in 2022, which informed the public about the classification, was unlawful. At that time, there was no legal basis in Hesse to make such a public announcement about the observation of a political party. The court explicitly stated that neither the LfV nor the Ministry of the Interior had a legal basis for the publication at that time.

Only through a legislative amendment last year does the Hessian Office for the Protection of the Constitution now have the authority to independently inform about classifications and significant findings without ministerial approval. The publication from 2022 remains a violation of law according to the judgment, as it occurred before the new regulation came into effect. Thus, the classification as a suspected case itself is not contested, but the procedure for its public announcement at the time is.

Reaction from Interior Minister Poseck

Hesse's Interior Minister Roman Poseck (CDU) viewed the decision as a success for the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution. "We live in a 'wehrhafte Demokratie' (defensive democracy) and a functioning rule of law," Poseck said. He also rejected criticism voiced within the state party that the Office for the Protection of the Constitution is an "instrument for combating the opposition." The domestic intelligence service acts on the basis of applicable law and is neither obligated to the government nor the opposition, the Interior Minister emphasized.

Despite the defeat in the main proceedings, the Hessian AfD expressed partial satisfaction. The two state chairmen, Andreas Lichert and Robert Lambrou, spoke of a "partial success" in a joint statement. They pointed out that the court had declared the publication of the classification at the time to be unlawful. The AfD leadership also claimed that the Office for the Protection of the Constitution had been "politically instrumentalized" to "make the AfD look bad in public."

Reaction of AfD Hesse

Lambrou had also stated that the proceedings were about defending against "stigmatization and defamation" by the domestic intelligence service. He described the AfD as a "bourgeois, conservative, liberal" party. The AfD announced that it would carefully examine the judgment and reserve the right to take further legal action. Since the Administrative Court has allowed an appeal, the path to the Kassel Higher Administrative Court is generally open.

In the main proceedings, the AfD's legal representative had also argued that "the plaintiff is convinced that the classification is happening predominantly for political reasons." However, the court did not follow this argument and stated that the classification is based on sufficient factual grounds. The observation using intelligence methods, which is associated with the classification as a suspected case, is thus considered lawful by the first instance court.

The decision resolves the dispute over the observation of the Hessian AfD by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, which has been ongoing since 2022, in the first instance. Should the AfD file an appeal, the Kassel Higher Administrative Court would have to deal with the matter again. However, until a final legally binding decision in a higher instance, the observation of the state party by the Hessian domestic intelligence service remains permissible.

What does classification as a suspected case mean?

Classification as a suspected case means that the Office for the Protection of the Constitution is permitted to monitor the party using intelligence methods. This includes, for example, the surveillance of functionaries, the analysis of open and closed communications, and the use of informants. Classification as a confirmed right-wing extremist, on the other hand, would be a more significant intervention and would establish further powers. With the classification as a suspected case, the Hessian AfD has reached the lowest level of classification, which nevertheless already triggers extensive powers of intervention.

Legally, classification as a suspected case is tied to specific factual indications that point to anti-constitutional efforts. The Administrative Court stated in its judgment that such indications exist at both the federal and state levels. The court explicitly took into account that the Hessian AfD has not demonstrably distanced itself from the federal party. According to the court's assessment, a distancing would have necessitated an independent evaluation of the state association.

Outlook and Political Significance

The Hessian AfD had criticized the observation as politically motivated and referred to its parliamentary representation in the Wiesbaden state parliament. The party had emerged as the strongest faction in the state parliament in the 2023 state elections. The AfD has been raising criticism against the observation of elected parliamentarians by the domestic intelligence service for years. However, the Administrative Court did not follow this argument and confirmed the lawfulness of the observation.

The decision also has nationwide political significance, as the Hessian AfD is considered a strong state association in several federal states. The classification as a suspected case at the state level is consistent with the nationwide classification of the AfD by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. Should the Hessian AfD's appeal before the Kassel Higher Administrative Court be unsuccessful, the observation of the state party would be judicially definitively secured. This would authorize the Hessian Office for the Protection of the Constitution to permanently monitor the party using intelligence methods.

The decision was reported on June 3, 2026, on Deutschlandfunk radio. This means the reporting on the conclusion of the main proceedings comes more than three years after the first-instance decision in the expedited proceeding and about eight months after the confirmation by the Kassel Higher Administrative Court in September 2025. The political debate about how to deal with the AfD in Hesse is likely to gain new momentum from this judgment.