Overview

• Dortmund has filed for an interim injunction at the Landgericht Dortmund to prohibit the AfD’s use of the city coat of arms across print, online and social media.
• The city’s application would bar any party from employing the more-than-1,000-year-old emblem in election advertising and demand removal or permanent defacement of existing posters.
• The AfD has refused to comply and reports that about 950 posters bearing a slightly altered version of the coat of arms are already in circulation with further print runs ordered.
• City officials argue that neutrality principles and heraldic regulations uniformly forbid political parties from using official municipal symbols in campaigns.
• The AfD contends that past permissions granted to parties such as the CDU and Freie Wähler justify its actions and insists on equal treatment under election law.