A figure of blind Justitia. © Sonja Wurtscheid/dpa/Symbolbild
The Higher Administrative Court (OVG) Berlin-Brandenburg has allowed the protest camp against a planned entry and exit center for migrants at BER airport. The court largely rejected police requirements, allowing the protest meeting planned from June 1 to 6 to take place. The OVG thus followed a previous decision of the Administrative Court of Potsdam, against which the police unsuccessfully appealed.
Schönefeld - (OVG 1 S 49/23).
Among other things, the assembly authority wanted to achieve a relocation of the protest camp, which can now be set up not very far from BER airport in Schönefeld. For example, impairments of the terrain and nature conservation were cited.
"The organizers see the verdict once again confirmed in their suspicion that the assembly authority had put forward reasons to prevent the protest camp," said the organizers of the "Stop Deportation Protest Camp" on Tuesday. The construction has now begun, about 500 participants are expected. A spokesman for the police headquarters in Potsdam said on Tuesday: "We are preparing for the operational measures."
In its urgent decision on Friday night, the OVG does not take it for granted that the gathering of protesters would affect the site more than the "intensive use of the area by riders with their horses, walkers with their dogs and commercially run quad group tours". Two court rulings relate exclusively to the erection of a large circus tent. After that, the erection of the tent must be accompanied by explosive ordnance experts, it was said. The assembly authority should also submit a declaration of no objection with regard to air traffic control.
The federal government and the state of Brandenburg are planning to build an entry and exit centre for migrants at BER airport. The protest initiative wants to demonstrate against deportations with its camp at Kiekebusch See near Schönefeld. "We will not allow the planned deportation center at the gates of Berlin to create a gigantic project of disenfranchisement and contempt for humanity," said the initiative "Prevent deportation center BER". Dpa