In Leipzig, according to police, around 500 participants took part in a demonstration for Lina E. © Jan Woitas/dpa
After the verdict against the 28-year-old student Lina E. and three co-defendants for attacks on right-wing extremists, left-wing sympathizers take to the streets. Especially in Leipzig, the mood is heated.
Leipzig/Bremen/Hamburg/Berlin - After the guilty verdict for the student Lina E. for left-wing extremist acts of violence, sympathizers in several cities have protested against the verdict. On Wednesday evening, there were some riots and clashes. In Leipzig, a gathering was declared over, according to a police spokesman, after bottles and pyrotechnics were thrown in the direction of the officers. In downtown Bremen, around 350 mostly masked people had gathered and then went "relatively quickly and abruptly" on emergency services, said a police spokeswoman. Solidarity rallies for Lina E. were also held in Berlin, Hamburg and Dresden, among other places.
The student was sentenced on Wednesday to five years and three months in prison. The Higher Regional Court of Dresden found the 28-year-old from Kassel guilty of membership in a criminal organization for several attacks on right-wing extremists. Three co-accused men received sentences ranging from two years and five months and three years and three months. The arrest warrant against Lina E. was suspended subject to conditions. She does not have to serve the remaining sentence until the verdict is final - the court allowed an appeal.
A demonstrator in front of the Higher Regional Court of Dresden with a clear message on her socks. © Robert Michael/dpa
The Federal Prosecutor General accused the group of brutally beating up actual or alleged supporters of the right-wing scene in Leipzig, Eisenach and the village of Wurzen between 2018 and 2020.
Heated atmosphere in Leipzig
In Leipzig, according to the impressions of a dpa reporter after the verdict, a high potential for aggression was felt. Demonstrators shouted anti-police slogans, pyrotechnics were ignited, police officers were pelted with firecrackers. A police spokesman said there had been crimes from several groups. Demonstrators, for example, had erected barricades and thrown stones, bottles and pyrotechnics at officials. Four forces were slightly injured, police said during the night. There were no arrests.
In the evening, police in Leipzig cleared a barricade that demonstrators had erected at an intersection with construction barriers and the contents of glass containers. A clearance tank was used. A water cannon was also ready. The police put the number of protesters at around 800. In the park where the meeting took place, however, the situation had calmed down somewhat late in the evening. Emergency services were still on the road in the city area during the night.
About the riots in Bremen, the police spokeswoman said that glass bottles and stones had been thrown at police officers, and pyrotechnics had also been ignited. In addition, a police car was damaged. No one was injured. Around 70 suspects were provisionally arrested, according to police. The situation calmed down late in the evening. According to their own statements, the police were deployed with numerous forces. A water cannon and an armored vehicle were also ready.
Left-wing radicals call for further protests
In Hamburg, hundreds of supporters of the left-wing scene gathered to protest against the court ruling and marched through the Schanzenviertel - accompanied by police officers. Their banners bore slogans such as "Free them all" and "Fight their class justice." The police spoke of about 1200 participants during the night. Police officers were pelted with bottles and pyrotechnics, among other things. According to a spokesman, three officers were slightly injured. There were also five arrests. In spite of everything, the demonstration was "mostly peaceful," said a police spokesman.
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Demonstrators from the left-wing spectrum are protesting in Leipzig. © Jan Woitas/dpa
In Berlin, the police put the number of participants in the night at around 450. The demonstration was largely peaceful, there were only a few scuffles. According to a spokesman, three police officers were slightly injured. One person had been arrested.
On Saturday, the radical left-wing scene is calling for participation in a big "Day X" in Leipzig. The police fear riots and are preparing a large-scale operation. Dpa
