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After Lina E. verdict: Another riot on "Day X" in Leipzig

2023-06-03T23:16:26.618Z

Highlights: Saturday was initially largely peaceful, before the situation escalated again in the evening. At a demonstration at Alexis-Schumann-Platz there were firecrackers, stones, bottles and an incendiary device thrown at police officers. The police surrounded some of the demonstrators and spoke of "massive riots" in the south of Leipzig. Several officers were hit and injured by stones and other projectiles, a police spokesman said on Saturday evening. According to initial findings, 23 officers were injured; one of them was treated in hospital.



Police react during riots at a demonstration for freedom of assembly in Leipzig. © Hendrik Schmidt/dpa

Already on Saturday night there were riots of the left-wing radical scene in Leipzig. Saturday was initially largely peaceful, before the situation escalated again in the evening.

Leipzig - In Leipzig, there were renewed clashes between police and demonstrators on Saturday after the verdict against Lina E. for left-wing extremist acts of violence. At a demonstration at Alexis-Schumann-Platz there were firecrackers, stones, bottles and an incendiary device were thrown at police officers. The police surrounded some of the demonstrators and spoke of "massive riots" in the south of Leipzig. Several water cannons had been brought into position, but not used, said a spokesman.

According to the police, around 1500 participants had gathered for the demonstration on Saturday afternoon, a third of whom were violent. 100 demonstrators were registered. The gathering initially remained peaceful, but then escalated. Several officers were hit and injured by stones and other projectiles, a police spokesman said on Saturday evening. The police did not initially provide any information on the exact number of injured officers.

"The situation on Karl-Liebknecht-Straße is becoming unpeaceful. Our forces are attacked again and again and thrown with stones / pyrotechnics," wrote the police on Saturday evening on Twitter. We appeal to all people there to distance themselves from criminals and to behave peacefully. "Bystanders are asked to leave or avoid the area."

In left-wing circles, there had been nationwide mobilization for the demonstration on Saturday. The occasion is the verdict against Lina E. and three co-defendants for attacks on alleged or actual neo-Nazis, in which several people were injured, some seriously. The 28-year-old was sentenced to five years and three months in prison by the Dresden Higher Regional Court on Wednesday.

Until the afternoon, the situation had remained peaceful. Despite the final ban on a large "Day X" demonstration of the left-wing radical scene, the police were present in the city with a large contingent. In addition, the Saxon Cup final, the city festival and a concert by Herbert Grönemeyer took place in the city. There were checkpoints on access roads to the city as well as at the train station all day. Early Saturday afternoon, several vehicles and garbage cans were on fire.

The "Day X" demo was supposed to take place on Saturday at 17:00 p.m. in Wolfgang-Heinze-Straße. However, the city had banned them. The ban had been confirmed by both the Leipzig Administrative Court and the Saxon Higher Administrative Court. A constitutional complaint to the Federal Constitutional Court was also unsuccessful. It was not accepted for decision.

After the riots, there was criticism from the left of the police actions. Its parliamentary secretary in the Saxon state parliament, Marco Böhme, accused the police on Twitter of having escalated the situation through the "de facto ban". Kerstin Köditz, a member of the state parliament for the Left Party, criticized the decision not to let the demonstrators go. "De-escalation looks different," the politician said on Twitter. The left-wing alliance "Dresden Nazifrei" described the appearance of the police as "martial".

Already on Friday evening there had been riots in Connewitz. Masked men had attacked police officers. After the initially peaceful course of a meeting at Wiedebachplatz in the Connewitz district, stones were thrown from a crowd of up to 700 masked people and pyrotechnics were ignited. Both there and in side streets, barricades from garbage cans and construction site barriers burned. The police used tear gas and, according to their own statements, were pelted with objects from rooftops.

Most of the burning barricades were extinguished shortly after midnight, partly with the help of water cannons. According to initial findings, 23 officers were injured. One of them was treated in hospital. A journalist was reportedly attacked by an unknown person and slightly injured. 17 police vehicles were damaged. Eight vehicles had been set on fire, including cars belonging to local residents, it said. At a bank branch, damage was caused "in the high five-digit sum", as the police announced. Among other things, it is being investigated for serious breach of the peace. According to the information, five suspects were arrested, three people were taken into custody. Dpa

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2023-06-03

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