Thousands rally against right-wing extremism in German cities

More than 25,000 people took to the streets of several German cities again on Thursday evening to protest against right-wing extremism and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party after mass demonstrations at the weekend.

According to police reports, at least 12,000 participants came together in Wiesbaden in Hesse state.

In North Rhine-Westphalia there were at least three rallies with a total of 10,000 demonstrators - 5,000 each in Hagen, Siegen and Mönchengladbach. In Siegen, the rally was held under the motto "Never again is now!" against a parallel New Year's reception of the AfD district association.

In Rostock in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, according to preliminary police estimates, 6,500 people gathered in the city centre on Thursday to demonstrate against the right. The organizers spoke of 9,500 participants there, compared to 3,000 who had registered.

According to police reports, more than 900,000 people demonstrated against right-wing extremism and for the protection of democracy across Germany last weekend. There will be more rallies across Germany next weekend.

The protests are in response to revelations by the investigative media outlet Correctiv, which reported that plans were discussed at a meeting in Potsdam in November about how a large number of people of foreign origin could be kicked out of Germany - even by force and including German citizens.

Following the revelation, hundreds of thousands of people across Germany took to the streets in protest.

The meeting was attended by several AfD politicians as well as individual members of the mainstream conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) and the ultraconservative WerteUnion.