An the first day of the controversial Eritrea Festival in Gießen, the police arrested almost 100 violent criminals after riots and sent them into custody. So far, she has initiated the same number of investigations, including on suspicion of serious breaches of the peace and bodily harm. Some of the suspects come from other European countries, according to the interim report by the police.
You have 26 injured colleagues to complain about. The officials were mainly injured by stones thrown; a large part was able to continue the service. With reference to the rescue control center, it is said that bystanders were not affected by the violent riots. Accordingly, no seriously injured violent criminals have become known.
The police are represented in the city with around 1,000 emergency services, including officials from other federal states along with equipment such as a water cannon. A spokesman announced in the evening that the operation against violent criminals would continue consistently at night. A gun ban zone applies in parts of the city until Sunday evening.
Demonstration against Eritrea festivals passed quietly
Around noon and for some time afterwards, the situation was as follows: demonstrators threw stones and smoke bombs. The police used tear gas and water cannons, 200 people were temporarily arrested and 60 taken into custody. A police helicopter circles downtown. 22 police officers are injured, as the law enforcement officers initially report. The situation only calmed down somewhat in the course of the afternoon. A rally against the festival with about 100 participants is civilized.
Around noon, 100 to 150 people tried to climb a fence at the Hessenhalle event site, where the festival is held with around 2,000 people. Before that, about 100 people tore down the fence, the police reported. Stones flew. With a police helicopter and drone, she monitored what was happening and warned visitors not to come to Gießen.
A police spokesman said no to the FAZ’s question as to whether the festival could be canceled in view of the violence and arrests. He referred to the decisions of the Administrative Court, which allowed the festival and rejected the city’s prohibition orders. However, the situation could be reassessed as the situation progresses, the spokesman added.
“Police officers are not a buffer stop”
After the riots, the Hessian Interior Minister Peter Beuth (CDU) called on the federal government to summon the ambassador of the East African country. “It must be made clear to the Eritrean government that Eritrean conflicts must not be fought on German soil,” said Beuth. “Our police officers are not the buffer stop for conflicts in third countries.”
It was foreseeable that there could be riots between Eritreans in Gießen. A year ago there were riots on the fringes of the festival, which has been around since 2011. The city had therefore recently tried to stop the festival. But the Hessian Administrative Court has rejected the current justification for the ban as insufficient. The organizer’s safety concept was sufficient, the judges said.