Journalists in Germany have walked out of a news conference after the nationalist Alternative for Germany party decided to refuse questions from a prominent reporter.

Lawmakers from the nationalist party's chapter in the eastern state of Brandenburg said at the start of a news conference Tuesday that they wouldn't take questions from a reporter for mass-circulation daily Bild.

The reporter had previously asked the party's caucus leader, Andreas Kalbitz, about his ties to a banned far-right group.

The association of parliamentary correspondents in Brandenburg called the party's decision "a serious infraction of press freedom and absolutely unacceptable."

It urged members to boycott future news conferences by the party, known as AfD, unless all reporters are allowed to ask questions.

AfD regularly attacks journalists who report unfavorably about the party.