Large corona demos were banned for this weekend.
The police are still on the alert and are under pressure from the federal government.
Large Corona * demos were banned on Saturday (April 17th) in several cities.
The organizers of the demos in Stuttgart failed with two urgent applications before the Federal Constitutional Court
(see update from April 17, 12:40 p.m.).
The police recorded hundreds of violations in the capital of Baden-Württemberg
(see update from April 18, 9:10 a.m.)
.
Update from April 18, 11:17 a.m.:
In Berlin, around 300 people are said to have protested against the corona restrictions on Saturday.
The police speak of 69 arrests for violations of the Infection Protection Act and other criminal offenses.
A wheelchair user had to be carried away after resisting.
Update from April 18, 9:10 a.m.:
Although the protests against the corona policy were prohibited, many people marched through Stuttgart on Saturday to demonstrate against the measures in the pandemic.
The police found hundreds of violations.
More than 700 people have been arrested and identified, there have been ads and reprimands.
More than 1000 violations of the mask requirement were also noted.
The officials stopped several spontaneous, unauthorized elevators and group formations.
Two police officers were injured in the process.
A total of around 1,000 Corona opponents and around 400 counter-demonstrators were out and about in the city.
The protesters are said to have chanted slogans and carried drums and flags.
Update from April 17, 12.40 p.m.:
The demonstrations by opponents of the Corona policy in Stuttgart on Saturday remain prohibited.
The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe rejected two urgent applications directed against the bans, as a spokesman said.
The organizers tried to get the demonstrations to take place on the same day.
The Saxon Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) has meanwhile sharply criticized the behavior of the AfD and part of the population in the Free State in the Corona crisis.
Corona demos planned for Saturday were also banned in court in the state capital Dresden.
He accused the AfD, “lateral thinkers” and other “conspiratorial people” of keeping those responsible from their work, of irritating people and of breaking the clear course that is needed in combating the pandemic.
Unregistered corona demo in Aschaffenburg: mask obligation violated several times
Update from April 17, 10:51 a.m.:
160 people demonstrated against the current Corona measures in Aschaffenburg.
The meeting was not registered, the police announced on Saturday.
However, there were no disruptions or criminal offenses on Friday evening.
The demonstration was still subject to conditions.
Initially, the participants tried to make an elevator out of the congregation.
However, this was prevented by a police chain.
Administrative offense proceedings were initiated against some participants who did not wear mouth and nose protection.
The Federal Constitutional Court has to decide on urgent requests for corona demos
Update from April 17, 10:40 a.m.:
After the ban on two corona demos in Stuttgart, the organizers turned on the Federal Constitutional Court.
A spokesman for the court said on Saturday that urgent applications had been received that were now being examined.
The Administrative Court (VGH) in Mannheim had confirmed the ban on the demonstrations on Friday evening.
With the ban, the city primarily wants to prevent scenes like on Holy Saturday, when up to 15,000 participants were walking without mouth and nose protection and without any distance during a demonstration of the “lateral thinkers” movement.
Several corona demos banned at the weekend - Justice Minister wants to see more harshness from the police
First report from April 17th, 9.37 a.m .:
Kempten / Dresden / Stuttgart - The risk of infection is too high, which was ultimately confirmed by the courts.
Several corona demos that should take place on Saturday (April 17th) are therefore prohibited.
For the police, however, this does not mean the all-clear, because the large-scale operation is still threatened.
The tolerance for violations of corona rules should now be over for good, demands Federal Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht.
She wants “a clear red line to be drawn” in the future.
Corona demo with the founder of “lateral thinkers” remains prohibited in Kempten
In Bavaria, a corona demo was originally planned in Kempten for Saturday.
However, the Bavarian Administrative Court confirmed the ban.
The assembly authority rightly stated that the prohibition was necessary to prevent the risk of infection.
A meeting with fewer participants is therefore not justifiable.
According to the city of Kempten, there are no suitable areas for such events in the community due to the Corona regulations.
A demonstration with 8,000 people and a demonstration procession with 2,000 participants were planned.
The “lateral thinker” founder Michael Ballweg also wanted to be there.
Ban on corona demo in Dresden confirmed by several instances
The situation is very similar in Saxony.
The Saxon Higher Administrative Court confirmed on Friday evening the ban on the "lateral thinkers" meetings on Saturday in Dresden.
In this case too, the risk of infection * was considered too high.
The court also referred to previous demonstrations.
It is to be expected that the organizer will not be able to ensure compliance with the concept and a limited number of participants despite the hygiene concept presented.
The police in Dresden still want to remain on an escalation of the situation.
And she is not alone in that.
Stuttgart is preparing for a large-scale operation - although corona demos have been prohibited
There will be no corona demo in Stuttgart on Saturday either. In the end, the organizers of the demo could not prevail in court. The reasons are the same as in other cities. However, the police made it clear that they would remain prepared for an emergency. One reason for this are possible protests against the ban on demonstrations. But it is also about counter-demonstrators or participants who have not heard of the ban. A corona demo in Stuttgart only triggered a scandal at the beginning of April. There were countless violations of hygiene requirements and stone throws.
"The Stuttgart police are preparing intensively for the incident and thus again for a large-scale operation," said a spokesman for the police headquarters.
Several hundred police officers are therefore on duty in the city center, including police officers, drones and water cannons.
Stuttgart's Lord Mayor Frank Nopper called for the ban to be observed.
"Anyone who goes to these forbidden rallies is endangering themselves and others."
Federal Justice Minister Lambrecht wants the police to crack down on cracks
There has been criticism of the police in recent weeks because, for example, violations of the obligation to wear a corona mask * were repeatedly overlooked at demos. In relation to the newspapers of the Funke media group, Federal Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) now called for a much tougher line on this issue. If there are criminal acts and violations of infection protection during demonstrations, a red line is crossed. "In addition to criminal prosecution, this also means that demonstrations must be broken up by the police as a final consequence," said the minister. Lambrecht sees such incidents as a "danger to freedom of expression and to our democracy".
(rm with dpa and AfP)
