As of: 01/14/2022 4:21 p.m
In Dresden, the police prevented a major demonstration against the Corona measures – but are also initiating administrative offense proceedings against students who opposed the demo. That causes criticism.
After their protest against a demonstration by corona deniers in Dresden, students at Dresden University Medicine have to face the consequences. They are accused of violating the Corona emergency regulations, and a fine procedure will be initiated, the police said. The students stood protectively in front of the Dresden University Hospital on Thursday evening and asked the other side with posters to be vaccinated.
The fact that the students are now threatened with administrative offense proceedings is causing criticism on social media. The police defended their actions: The action had neither been registered nor had there been an exception that allowed more than ten people to gather. The group of students got into a cauldron that officials closed around participants in a demonstration against the corona measures near the clinic, it said. Therefore, the identities of the 22 students were determined. “Regardless of the political motivation, the police are bound by the law,” said a police spokesman.
Praise for the students from politics
There was a lot of encouragement for the students from politics. “A clear and important statement from the students,” wrote Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) on his Twitter account and added “Thank you!” behind. He also posted a picture of the action on Thursday evening.
The budding physicians experienced every day that “it is not the measures against the virus that are the problem, but the virus itself,” wrote Kretschmer. Among other things, he used the hashtag #ImpfenStattSchimpfen – a slogan of the poster campaign.
Civil courage is “definitely the right signal to show a clear edge against the current corona protests,” said Saxony’s Interior Minister Roland Wöller of the dpa news agency. “I sincerely thank you for that.” The Ministry of the Interior still has to check “how the situation for the officials on site has presented itself in order to be able to finally assess the actions”. The rules of the Corona Emergency Ordinance apply to everyone.
Up to 2000 demonstrators on the way
On Thursday evening, the police prevented a demonstration by deniers of the corona pandemic and critics of the protective measures with a large contingent. She had expected a larger crowd and had not ruled out violence by extremists because right-wing groups had promoted the demo. That’s why the university hospital was cordoned off by two hundred people, and officials were stationed at every entrance.
“It would have been unbearable for us if the clinic staff, who were already groaning, had to go through a trellis of lateral thinkers and corona critics,” said the responsible police leader Hendrik Schlicke. According to the police, up to 2,000 corona demonstrators were on the move.
The security forces repeatedly broke up small groups and took people’s personal details. Individually they then moved in the direction of the center. The police spoke of a “cat and mouse game”. In total, more than 200 administrative offense proceedings were initiated. There were also three criminal charges for insult and three for resisting law enforcement officials. More than 1000 officers were deployed. In addition, two water cannons and a clearing tank were present. A helicopter circled the area.
Police chief Jörg Kubiessa spoke of a successful operation. The clinic was protected and a planned central elevator was prevented. “The question that is now being discussed in public is: Are there right and wrong rule violations? That can be safely discussed as a society.” However, this discussion is not suitable as a basis for action for the police officers – “especially not in such dynamic operations”.