Saturday, December 10, 2011

Germany seeks to ban far right party

Dec 9, 2:11 PM EST

BERLIN (AP) -- Germany's top security officials say they are formally launching an investigation to determine whether a far right party should be banned over its antidemocratic convictions.

Germany's Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich said Friday he reached agreement with his counterparts from the country's 16 states to gather material for a trial seeking to ban the NPD party. They say the National Democratic Party is "inhuman, hostile to democracy and anti-Semitic."

The move comes only weeks after a small far right terrorist group was discovered that is being blamed for 10 murders and explosive attacks that mostly targeted foreigners.

The hurdles for banning a party are high in Germany and only the country's Constitutional Court can do so - and it rejected a first attempt to block the NPD in 2003.

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