City of Leipzig bans demonstration announced for Sunday

After clashes between left-wing radicals and the police, the city of Leipzig has banned a demonstration scheduled for Sunday evening. "The reason for this is the experience of Saturday evening," said a spokesman for the city at the request of the German Press Agency. During the riots in the south of Leipzig, several officials and demonstrators were injured.

According to the police, almost 30 people had been arrested, among other things, on charges of serious breach of the peace.

According to the city, the basis for the ban on the demonstration is a general decree applicable to Saturday and Sunday. This prohibits gatherings that refer to the verdict against the left-wing extremist Lina E. The 28-year-old, who lives in Leipzig, and other co-defendants were convicted of violent crimes last Wednesday in Dresden. Subsequently, solidarity demonstrations were called nationwide. The focus was on Leipzig. The demonstration announced for Sunday evening was to be directed against police violence.

The Saxon state parliamentarians Juliane Nagel and Marco Böhme (both left) described the ban as "scandalous": "Yesterday, fundamental rights were suspended. We appeal to the mayor and the police leadership not to continue to make the city of Leipzig a zone free of fundamental rights," they said on Sunday. Dpa