Federal Interior Minister Faeser wants to crack down on demonstrations after the riots in Leipzig. Violence by “left-wing extremist chaotic people” cannot be justified by anything. The Saxon left-wing faction, on the other hand, criticizes the police.
After the riots in Leipzig, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser announced that she would keep an eye on the left-wing extremist scene. “The senseless violence of left-wing extremist chaos and rioters cannot be justified by anything,” said the social democrat in a statement. “Anyone who throws stones, bottles and incendiary devices at police officers must be held accountable.”
The federal and state security authorities would continue to “keep a very close eye on the violent left-wing extremist scene in the coming days and weeks and intervene consistently if criminal and violent crimes occur,” announced Faeser.
Police: 50 officers injured
She wished the injured police officers a speedy recovery. “I would like to thank all police forces, but also the emergency services, for the difficult and dangerous operation,” she said. The Saxon police had been supported by the federal police and officials from eleven federal states.
According to the police, around 50 police officers were injured in the operation, along with an unknown number of demonstrators. Rioters therefore attacked emergency services with projectiles and set up burning barricades, which were extinguished and cleared with water cannons. According to their own statements, the police surrounded just over 1,000 people on Saturday evening and detained them for hours in order to determine their identity.
According to the police, almost 30 people were arrested during the protests on Saturday – among other things, on charges of serious breaches of the peace. The application for arrest is now being examined for them. In addition, between 40 and 50 people were temporarily taken into custody.
As early as Saturday night, the police had provisionally arrested five men. Later, a judge at the district court issued an arrest warrant against the men between the ages of 20 and 32 for breach of the peace, the police said on Twitter.
New demonstration banned
Based on the experiences of Saturday evening, the city of Leipzig has banned another registered demonstration for Sunday evening, according to a city spokesman.
According to the city, the basis for the ban on the demonstration is a general decree that applies to Saturday and Sunday. This prohibits gatherings related to the verdict against Lina E. The 28-year-old living in Leipzig and other co-defendants were convicted of violent crimes in Dresden last Wednesday.
Then nationwide solidarity demonstrations were called. The focus was in Leipzig. The demo announced for Sunday evening should be directed against police violence.
Left Party wants to apply for a special session
The Saxon state parliamentarians Juliane Nagel and Marco Böhme from the Left Party described the ban as scandalous: “Basic rights were already overridden yesterday,” they explained. “We appeal to the mayor and the police leadership to stop making the city of Leipzig a zone free of fundamental rights.”
Now the left-wing faction in the Saxon state parliament wants to make the police action an issue in the internal committee. The parliamentary group will request a special session on Monday, as Kerstin Köditz said on Twitter. “The background to the violations of fundamental rights, especially the boiler, is in need of clarification.” The Ministry of the Interior is responsible.
Criticism also from the Saxon SPD domestic politician Pallas
The Saxon SPD domestic politician Albrecht Pallas also criticized the operation: There were people at the demonstration who wanted to confront the police by throwing stones and bottles. “This violence is unacceptable,” he said. “Obviously, the police leadership also chose a provocative approach, for example by deploying all water cannons, using unnecessary force when pushing bystanders away or encircling people for eleven hours,” criticized the member of parliament.
Police chief René Demmler defended the procedure: It was necessary to de-escalate through strength.