AfD leaks: It's enough for an AfD ban procedure

The AfD lost over 421,000 emails and around 50,000 attached documents due to a hacker attack. And once again the question arises: Can this leak contribute to an AfD party ban process? Some say this, others say that. It is probably the search for the one big decisive clue that may drive some people to dig through the data. The irrefutable proof that could be provided to the Federal Constitutional Court that the AfD wants to abolish democracy and should be banned. So far it's not there.

This one solid piece of evidence would not even be needed to initiate proceedings to ban the AfD party. A lot of legal analysis has already been carried out - with the result that the success of a ban procedure cannot be completely ruled out. However, that was already clear before the leak. The Society for Freedom Rights has dug through masses of AfD material and explained in more than 1,500 pages in the summer why a ban procedure could be successful. Other lawyers are more skeptical, believing that the material is not enough to stand up in court. And politics? Wait for lawyers to agree. But that won't happen, and politicians should know that too, after all, many of them are lawyers themselves.

The question of whether to initiate an AfD party ban process is no longer a legal one, but a purely political one. Article 21 of the Basic Law, in which the ban on parties is constitutionally regulated, can be used to ask the Federal Constitutional Court to clarify the matter in case of doubt. Nobody can predict with 100% certainty what will happen. However, this opportunity should be used and perhaps at least a partial ban will result. The leak will certainly also provide the court with other interesting insights - about the internal processes of the AfD, how it deals with donation scandals, such as that of Alice Weidel in the 2017 federal election campaign. Or how lax its treatment of völkisch-national members is, such as Matthias Helferich, who is still a member despite a planned party expulsion procedure.

The taz is an independent, left-wing and opinionated daily newspaper. We have been arguing in our comments, essays and debate texts since the taz was founded in 1979. We often cannot and do not want to agree on an opinion. That's why you'll find some completely opposing positions here - all part of the very broad left-wing spectrum of opinions.

Are courts allowed to use the data? Ultimately, the hacker group illegally gained access to the email accounts. But it was not the police, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution or other government agencies, but rather third parties who illegally “obtained” the data material. The Federal Constitutional Court decided years ago that evidence obtained by third parties may be used in criminal proceedings. According to experts, this can also be applied to an AfD ban procedure in Karlsruhe. The opportunity is there - and perhaps the material also contains one crucial sentence that makes it abundantly clear that the AfD wants to abolish democracy.