German minister slams far-right plans to report teachers

BERLIN – Germany’s justice minister has sharply condemned efforts by a nationalist party to establish online platforms where students and parents can report teachers expressing personal political thought.

Katarina Barley said Thursday that “organized denunciation is a tool of dictatorships.”

The far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, has already launched one such portal in the northern city of Hamburg and is planning to create others in several German states.

Barley told daily Frankfurter Allgemeine that “a party using this to expose disagreeable teachers … reveals a lot about its own understanding of democracy.”

The German Teachers Association also criticized the AfD’s actions, calling it an attempt at intimidation.

The AfD has also targeted other groups including migrants and Muslims.