The AfD can definitely hold its federal party conference at the end of the month in Essen’s Grugahalle. Following an administrative court ruling, the city has refrained from further resistance.
The city of Essen is giving up its opposition to the planned AfD federal party conference in the Grugahalle. The factions have agreed not to take any further legal action against the party conference on June 29 and 30, said a spokeswoman for the city. The “WAZ” newspaper reported.
On Friday, the Gelsenkirchen Administrative Court ruled that the city of Essen must make the Grugahalle available to the AfD for its federal party conference. The court is convinced that the AfD is entitled to equal treatment when it comes to admission to public facilities. It should not be treated differently than other political parties.
The city of Essen has now decided not to appeal to the next higher court, said the spokeswoman. A hearing that was still scheduled for Monday at the Essen Regional Court has been cancelled, according to the city and the AfD. The dispute was also supposed to be discussed there.
Nazi slogans as a controversial issue
The trade fair had originally demanded that the AfD make a voluntary commitment to accept responsibility for any criminal Nazi slogans that might be expressed at the party conference. AfD Vice President Peter Boehringer had argued that it was impossible “to know in advance and prevent every criminally sensitive comment from being made when there are 1,800 participants and external, non-party visitors to an event.” The city’s concessions as a result of the administrative court ruling mean that this legal dispute will not be pursued any further. On the city’s instructions, Messe Essen has recognized the AfD’s right to access the Grugahalle even without a voluntary commitment.
The AfD wants to elect a new executive board at the party conference on the last weekend in June, among other things. Numerous organizations have announced their opposition to the meeting. The police are expecting tens of thousands of participants in the counter-demonstrations – they would be the largest protests in the city for a long time.
Source: Stern
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