Berlin Police Launch Examination After Officer Seen Punching Activist at Pro-Palestinian Protest
Berlin, Germany – Berlin police have initiated 96 criminal investigations and temporarily detained 94 people following clashes at a pro-Palestinian demonstration in the Mitte district on Saturday. the investigations come after video footage emerged appearing to show a police officer punching an Irish activist during the protest, prompting widespread scrutiny.
The demonstration, organized by groups including Irish Bloc Berlin - a self-described ”platform for Irish solidarity with Palestine” - was held in response to the killing of Palestinian journalists in Gaza. Several hundred officers were deployed to the Hackescher Markt commercial zone to address an unauthorized “gathering in the context of the Middle East conflict.”
According to police, approximately 100 demonstrators marched “back and forth” on Rosenthaler Straße, with some exhibiting “verbally aggressive” behavior toward officers. Police ordered the crowd to disperse after determining there was no identifiable leader and demonstrators chanted what they described as ”criminal, prohibited slogans,” including reports of “Yallah, yallah intifada” and “From the river to the sea.”
A Berlin court last year convicted an activist for chanting the latter phrase, “From the river to the sea,” four days after the Hamas attacks on Israel.
Police stated that during the operation,officers faced “insults,physical attacks and acts of resistance.” The 96 criminal investigations launched cover allegations including the use of symbols of unconstitutional and terrorist organizations, attacks on law enforcement officers, insulting behavior, and bodily harm.
Clashes between police and demonstrators at pro-Palestinian rallies are frequent in Berlin, with authorities accusing activists of fostering an “aggressive atmosphere.” Participants and observers, however, have consistently reported instances of what they describe as excessive and unprovoked police force against pro-Palestinian demonstrators in the city.
The incident and subsequent investigation occur against a backdrop of heightened sensitivity surrounding demonstrations related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in germany, where expressions of support for Palestine are frequently enough subject to legal scrutiny.
