Enlarge image
"Unconventional thinkers" demonstrations in Berlin
Photo: Fabian Sommer / dpa
When the police wanted to determine his identity, the man complained of a tingling sensation in his arm and chest: a man collapsed during the "lateral thinkers" demonstrations in Berlin and then died in a hospital.
A police spokesman confirmed to the dpa news agency early Monday morning that the 49-year-old had been a participant in the protests.
Police forces immediately provided first aid until the ambulance arrived.
A death investigation has been launched.
Despite the ban on several demonstrations, including those from the "lateral thinker" scene, thousands of people took to the streets in Berlin on Sunday.
There were several clashes between protesters and the police on Sunday.
Emergency services and union representatives were also attacked.
As police spokesman Thilo Cablitz said, there have been almost 600 arrests.
There were around 5000 participants.
They would have tried again and again across town to find each other.
Journalist beaten and kicked
The Berlin-Brandenburg state manager of the German Union of Journalists (DJU) in Verdi, Jörg Reichel, was brutally attacked on the sidelines of the protests in Kreuzberg. According to a report by the »Tagesspiegel«, several people pulled him from his bicycle on Sunday and then hit and kicked him. They only let go of him when passers-by intervened. The unionist suffered injuries to his shoulder and legs and is currently in hospital.
"We are deeply dismayed and stand in solidarity by the side of our colleague, who has been observing the rallies of the so-called lateral thinkers with great personal commitment since last year and advocates the media and freedom of the press," said the Federal Managing Director of the DJU in Verdi, Monique Hofmann .
Reichel had been defamed and threatened from the "lateral thinking" scene for months, Hofmann explained.
His name and photo were circulating on relevant Telegram channels.
"Jörg didn't let himself be intimidated by this and carried on."
The top candidate of the left, Dietmar Bartsch, showed solidarity with Reichel on Twitter.
kha / dpa