German jurists call for ban of far‑right AfD party

More than 1,000 German legal professionals—including lawyers, judges, prosecutors and law students—have signed an open letter urging the federal government and the Bundestag to start a constitutional‑court procedure to ban the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which currently leads opinion polls. The petition, first released in July with 525 signatures, now lists 1,051 signatories and argues that the AfD’s policies breach the German Basic Law’s guarantees of human dignity (Article 1) and democratic order (Article 20). The signatories warn that inaction could cause serious damage to German democracy. The request does not itself ban the party; only the Federal Constitutional Court can decide, after a case is brought by the authorities. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution already monitors the AfD as a right‑wing extremist formation.