war against Ukraine
“Intolerable”, “macabre”: criticism of a pro-Russian motorcade
Russian flags fly on cars in front of the Berlin Olympic Stadium. Photo: Carsten Koall/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
While the brutal pictures from the Ukrainian Bucha are becoming public, a pro-Russian motorcade drives through Berlin – a so-called Z symbol is also shown there. Follow criminal charges?
Domestic politicians from the federal and state governments have reacted with outrage to public expressions of sympathy for the Russian attack on Ukraine and for President Vladimir Putin.
“In view of the atrocities and the pictures of the past few days, I personally cannot understand how you can take sides with a war criminal,” said North Rhine-Westphalian Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) of the “Rheinische Post”. The background is a motorcade with Russian flags on Sunday in Berlin. Unlike many other countries, Germany is characterized by “the fact that peaceful protests are not beaten down by the police, but protected,” emphasized Reul.
Thuringia’s Interior Minister Georg Maier (SPD) told the editorial network Germany (RND): “Such a car parade is unbearable and should no longer take place.” But he would be careful with bans, but conditions could be imposed for such a gathering, such as a ban on honking or a limit on the number of participants, said Maier.
The FDP interior expert Stephan Thomae and Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) pointed out that public approval of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine constitutes a criminal offence. “Therefore, the possibility of criminal prosecution should be examined in any case,” said Thomae of the “Rheinische Post”. Buschmann told the “Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger” that Section 140 of the Criminal Code provides for fines and imprisonment of up to three years.
The motorcade drove through Berlin on the day that the killing of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha came to light. Against this background, Thomae called the parade “macabre and tasteless”. According to the police, around 400 vehicles took part. Flags in the Russian colors of white, blue and red could be seen on numerous cars. According to Berlin’s Interior Secretary Torsten Akmann (SPD), a so-called Z symbol to support the war of aggression in Ukraine was also shown.