Germany’s AfD under surveillance

BERLIN: Germany’s domestic security agency has placed the far-right AfD under surveillance for posing a threat to democracy, parliamentary sources said on Wednesday, dealing a blow to the anti-immigration party in a big election year.

The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) has classified the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as a "suspected case" of ties to right-wing extremism, the sources told AFP.

The decision, made late last week according to a report in Der Spiegel weekly, will allow intelligence agents to shadow the party, tap its communications and possibly use undercover informants.