Germany's far-right AfD harbours growing number of extremists, spy agency reports

BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany's biggest opposition party the Alternative for Germany is harbouring a growing number of right-wing extremists, the domestic spy agency said in its annual report on Tuesday, reporting also a surge in overall crime motivated by right-wing extremism.

The number of extremists within the AfD, which came second in a federal election in February, rose by 77% last year to 20,000 in tandem with a growth in party membership and its shift rightwards, the agency said.

The agency last month classified the party at large as "extremist" on the basis of a 1,100-page experts' report enabling it to step up monitoring of the AfD, although the party has legally challenged this.

Party statements frequently included xenophobic and anti-Muslim positions, with migrants from predominantly Islamic countries often accused of cultural incompatibility and a strong inclination toward criminal behavior, the agency said on Tuesday.

AfD leaders frequently made statements that could be considered to attack the constitution during state election campaigns in eastern Germany last year - and mostly were not reined in by the party, the agency said. 

   It cited the leader of the AfD in Thuringia, Bjoern Hoecke, who at a campaign event in August said the election could "lead to the implosion of the cartel party system" and "finally bring about something that is a true democracy".

Crime motivated by right-wing extremism in Germany jumped 47.4% last year, including 6 attempted murders up from 4 in 2023 and 23 cases of arson up from 16, the agency said.

(Reporting by Sarah MarshEditing by Ludwig Burger)