Germany's domestic spy agency BfV will temporarily refrain from classifying the Alternative for Germany party as an extremist organization, pending litigation by the AfD, a court in the western city of Cologne said on Thursday.

The far-right party filed a lawsuit against the extremism designation and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution says it will suspend the categorisation pending litigation. View on

The reclassification — AfD was previously designated a “suspected” extremist group — is likely to reignite debate over a political ban on the party.