A German court on Friday ruled that the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) must grant national journalists access to an election night event in the state of Thuringia.
Several prominent German media outlets took legal action against the AfD in Thuringia after the AfD denied their reporters access to the election results party.
The Spiegel news magazine, the Axel Springer-owned Welt and Bild newspapers as well as the left-wing taz newspaper all argued in court that the freedom of the press was threatened by the AfD’s decision.
The verdict is not yet final and the AfD could lodge an appeal.
Voters in Thuringia will elect a new state parliament on September 1, and opinion polls have shown the AfD with a wide lead. The AfD’s state-level leader in Thuringia, Björn Höcke, is well-known across Germany for his radical views and highly controversial comments, including two convictions for knowingly quoting a Nazi slogan in speeches.
The spokesman for the state AfD organization in Thuringia, Torben Braga, told dpa that they had not yet received the decision and would not comment until he could review the verdict.
Several days ago, Braga and other AfD leaders in Thuringia told dpa that space in the party venue was limited and a decision was made to invite a small list of journalists that regularly cover Thuringia politics and the local AfD party.
“The one venue we have can hold 200 people, so it will be full. We have set aside 50 seats for the press and radio,” said Thuringia’s AfD co-chairman Stefan Möller. “We have to draw boundaries somewhere.”
AfD leaders previously suggested they would cancel the event if a court ordered them to allow more journalists to attent.
The actual location of the election evening party has been kept secret due to what the AfD has described as security concerns.
