At the beginning, an announced left-wing demo in Leipzig was peaceful.
But stones fly quickly.
After that, barricades also burn.
Leipzig - Violence at a left-wing demonstration in Leipzig: In the course of a rally under the motto "We are all LinX", riots broke out in the Saxon city on Saturday.
During the lift from the city center to the south of Leipzig, buildings were repeatedly pelted with stones.
After its official end, hooded men set fire to barricades in the Connewitz district.
The police opened water cannons, which in turn were pelted with stones.
Nationwide mobilization had taken place for the demonstration.
The reason for the demo was the trial of the Leipzig student and her co-defendants
According to the police, up to 3,500 people took part in the demonstration. It was organized by a campaign alliance. The occasion was the trial against the Leipzig student Lina E. and three co-defendants from Leipzig and Berlin for the formation of a criminal organization and attacks on alleged rights. Among other things, the immediate release of the woman was requested.
At the beginning the demonstration took place largely without violence, even if firecrackers and Bengalos were detonated again and again.
When the train passed the Leipzig Police Department, bottles and fireworks were thrown against the building.
Along the demo route, individual black-hooded people kept picking up cobblestones and hurling them against the panes of several bank buildings;
A house with student apartments was also the goal.
According to the police, in addition to attacks on the police, the demonstrators also took action against a snack bar, which was demolished as well as at least one vehicle and the entrance area of the University of Technology, Economics and Culture (HTWK).
Threat against the head of the Police Terrorism and Extremism Defense Center
The demo officially ended in the late afternoon. At this point the train had reached the Connewitzer Kreuz. As a police spokeswoman said, the Leipzig public prosecutor has initiated investigations into violations of the Assembly Act. A large number of participants were masked. A black block within the demonstration carried a banner with a threat against the head of the Police Terrorism and Extremism Defense Center (PTAZ). "Soon it will be out of your dream, then you will be lying in the trunk" read the fabric banner behind the name of the PTAZ boss.
In the early evening, the events in Connewitz had not yet calmed down, so the police were initially unable to draw a conclusion on the day of the demonstration.
A police helicopter circled over the neighborhood.
The police were on duty with a large number.
The Saxon officials had support from Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, among others.
The officers will also be increasingly present with emergency services at night, as police spokeswoman Therese Leverenz explained.
They want to act “communicatively and de-escalating” and hope for a peaceful outcome.
(cg with dpa)
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