As of: 01/14/2022 4:16 p.m
The administrative court has decided: The demonstration planned for Saturday by critics of the Corona policy in downtown Hamburg is prohibited.
The court thus confirmed the decision of the assembly authority to ban the rally, to which 9,000 participants were announced. According to the Corona Ordinance, a meeting can be banned or subject to conditions if this prevents the corona virus from spreading further, the court said. The ban issued by the assembly authority is proportionate.
The applicant can lodge a complaint
The applicant, who wanted to take action against the demo ban with an urgent application, can now lodge a complaint with the Higher Administrative Court. Since the beginning of October 2021, she has repeatedly registered meetings in downtown Hamburg. At the last rally, around 14,000 people came to demonstrate against the corona measures last weekend, many of whom were not wearing mouth and nose protection.
Applicant broke off talks
The decision to ban the demonstration was not possible otherwise, since the applicant broke off the talks earlier in the week, said police spokesman Holger Vehren. The assembly authority is part of the police force with a total of five chief inspectors. If a demo is registered, according to the right of assembly, there must be so-called cooperation talks between the registering party and the police. For example, it is about whether the desired route can be taken or not. In addition, due to the corona pandemic, the social and health authorities are always involved. This is what the Containment Ordinance provides for.
Mask requirement recently not complied with
And according to the police, with a view to the increasing number of infections, the health authorities have stipulated that all participants without exception must wear a mask and that distances must be maintained. This has not always been the case in past demonstrations. According to the police spokesman, the applicant for the demonstration turned down offers to talk about these conditions. And that’s why the police leadership issued the ban after a situation assessment.
200 people at protest demo
According to the police, around 200 people demonstrated on the street on Thursday afternoon against the ban and compulsory vaccination. According to the police, two disturbers had to leave the rally. Two other people did not comply with the mask requirement. There were traffic jams around the Mundsburg during rush hour.
criticism from the opposition
The opposition of the CDU, AfD and left in Hamburg City Hall is very critical of the demo ban. Of course, protection rules would have to be observed during the peak phase of the pandemic, said Anke Frieling (CDU). But then it is questionable why similar demonstrations were allowed for months. Left-wing politician Deniz Celik also sees a contradiction in the city’s decision: the police have hardly enforced the Corona requirements in past demos, but the ban on demonstrations now seems “completely disproportionate”. AfD parliamentary group leader Dirk Nockemann spoke of a “black day for our democracy” if the ban could not be overturned.
Different tones come from the red-green government coalition: Sören Schumacher (SPD) thinks the ban on demonstrations is right. Based on past experience, it cannot be expected that the applicable rules will be completely followed. Sina Imhof from the Greens sees it similarly. Anyone who is not prepared to meet the requirements for protection against infection endangers everyone else. That is why the Greens also support the demo ban.
Union: Police “between the chairs”
For Thomas Jungfer from the German Police Union, the police sit between the chairs. On the one hand, Mayor Peter Tschentscher (SPD) understands the demonstrations by opponents of vaccination, on the other hand, the health and interior authorities want the demonstration to be banned.
Smaller counter-demo may take place
The much smaller counter-rally can take place in the city center on Saturday, for which 1,000 demonstrators are registered. Behind it is a broad alliance of 80 organizations, including FC St. Pauli, Fridays For Future and the trade union ver.di.
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