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Solidarity demonstration for Lina E. in Berlin
Photo: FILIP SINGER / EPA
While the verdict against the left-wing extremist Lina E. was still underway at the Higher Regional Court in Dresden, sympathizers marched through the Saxon capital. Initially, the police did not provide any information on the number of participants, but a reporter from the German Press Agency estimated them to be in the low hundreds. The demonstrators held banners with the inscription »Free Lina«. Similar demonstrations had been called in numerous German cities, including Berlin, Hamburg and Leipzig.
In Berlin, several hundred sympathizers from the left-wing scene have taken to the streets. They moved from the State Office of Criminal Investigation on Tempelhofer Damm in the Tempelhof district towards Gneisenaustraße in Kreuzberg. The police put the number of participants at around 500. The demonstration was largely peaceful, but there were some scuffles, it said.
A number of people have also protested in Hamburg against the conviction of Lina E. A police commander spoke in an initial estimate of about 2000 participants. The supporters of the left-wing scene marched from the Rote Flora through the Schanzenviertel. Banners criticized them, among other things, "Fight of their class justice – it has hit individuals, meaning all of us". During their march, the demonstrators were accompanied by numerous police officers. Water cannons were also on standby.
Riots at left-wing demonstration in Bremen
Riots broke out at a demonstration in downtown Bremen. Around 300 mostly masked people had gathered at the stone gate and then went "relatively quickly and abruptly" on emergency services, said a spokeswoman for the police. Glass bottles and stones were thrown at police officers, and pyrotechnics were also ignited. The police spokeswoman was initially unable to provide information about possible injuries. The officials called on the population to avoid the area.
After the verdict against Lina E., riots had been feared. According to the Bremen police, left-wing extremist groups had announced crimes and protests in several cities, including Bremen, if convicted. The police had previously announced that they wanted to show more presence with more forces.
The Higher Regional Court of Dresden had sentenced the student Lina E. in the morning for several attacks on right-wing extremists to five years and three months in prison. For her three co-defendants, the State Security Chamber imposed prison sentences ranging from two years and five months to three years and three months. Lina E. is now released under conditions until the verdict is final. Until then, the arrest warrant is suspended.
czl/dpa