Middle East war
Police check “Pro-Palestine” demonstration in Essen for criminal offenses
A rally in Essen registered as a pro-Palestine demonstration. photo
© Christoph Reichwein/dpa
Banners with demands for the establishment of a caliphate: A pro-Palestinian demonstration in Essen was peaceful. But the police are now checking whether there were crimes.
North Rhine-Westphalia’s Interior Minister Herbert Reul said on radio station WDR that the state security force had observed very carefully on Friday and intervened whenever it could. The video and audio recordings would be further examined. “And if we have proof, we will take action. But we have to prove it,” said the CDU politician. If there is a video, the public prosecutor’s office will examine it and probably assume that it will be investigated for sedition.
According to the police, it became clear during the procession that the reason given to the police for the gathering, “Pro-Palestine,” had possibly only been used to hold an “Islamic religious gathering” on the streets of Essen. This was made clear by “the fact that stewards implemented strict gender separation and women and children had to walk at the end of the elevator.” At the final rally, women and children should have stood in a different place than the men.
No criminal violations during the rally
The police did not find any criminal violations regarding chants, symbols and flags during the rally. In addition to pro-Palestinian flags and signs, those that resembled the banned symbols of the Islamic State and the Taliban, but were not banned, were also displayed, police said. Image and sound recordings are currently being evaluated by state security and interpreters. Attention should also be paid to aspects relevant to criminal law. “In these cases, the Essen police will consistently pursue crimes in close coordination with the public prosecutor’s office,” the police said.
The demonstration was registered by a private individual. The leader of the meeting had expected 1,500 participants, but in the end 3,000 came. The police had issued a number of requirements and accompanied the demonstration with a large contingent. In the end, the police said the demonstration was “very loud and very emotional, but peaceful.”
On October 7, Islamists from Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, and other terrorists carried out a massacre of civilians in Israel. Since then, Israel’s army has been using air strikes and ground troops against targets in the sealed-off coastal area.