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May 1st in times of Corona: riot in Hamburg and Berlin

The right of assembly is currently severely restricted by the Disease Protection Act, the usual demonstrations on May 1st were not allowed to take place. However, it has not remained calm everywhere. In Berlin there were skirmishes with the police until late in the evening.

Despite the ban on corona, hundreds of people gathered in Berlin and Hamburg for illegal demonstrations on the evening of May 1st. In Berlin-Kreuzberg there were more than 1000 people walking close to each other on streets and squares, initially peacefully, after nightfall there were wrangles with police officers. Occasionally bottles and stones were flown, emergency services were injured, the police tweeted. According to the Berlin police chief Barbara Slowik, there have been 50 arrests to date.

With the use of a water cannon, the police dissolved an unauthorized gathering of left-wing demonstrators in the Schanzenviertel district in Hamburg on Friday evening. A police spokeswoman said that officials had previously been thrown at objects. In addition, the demonstrators have pulled garbage cans onto the street and ignited pyrotechnics. Police officers finally advanced and cleared the shoulder blade in front of the left-wing autonomous center Rote Flora.

Before that, around 350 left-wing demonstrators had gathered on the Reeperbahn despite the corona-related ban on assembly. This assembly was also dissolved by the police. In a side street of the Reeperbahn, police officers were also attacked by a group of around 20 people with pepper spray. Three officers had eye irritation, the attackers had escaped, said the police spokeswoman. A short time later, the ATM of a bank branch near the fish market was thrown at the floor slabs. Four suspects were arrested. Left-wing extremists in Hamburg had originally called for a “Revolutionary May Day Demo” on Friday evening. However, the elevator was prohibited.

The limit is 20 participants

The same protest event in Berlin, in which there had been repeated clashes with the police in previous years, had been canceled. Leftists and left-wing autonomists had called for spontaneous actions on the Internet. In the capital, officials with helmets kept pulling individuals out of the crowd. There was sometimes violent resistance. The police intervened consistently, said police chief Slowik. Work is underway to initiate criminal proceedings. In addition to the arrests, almost 100 people were identified. In addition, six people were to be brought before a judge.

Larger crowds of people are prohibited because of the pandemic. Attending unauthorized demonstrations is currently a criminal offense. The police were deployed on May 1 with a large contingent of 5000 forces. According to the interior senator, 27 meetings were approved, each with up to 20 participants, including a car parade into the Grunewald residential area.

In the 80s and 90s, thousands from the left scene fought street battles with the police on May 1st in Kreuzberg. In later years there were hours of demonstrations and short skirmishes. Finally, street parties curbed the violence.

In the left-wing alternative district of Connewitz in Leipzig, several hundred people demonstrated on May 1st, more than 200 according to initial estimates by the police. The demonstrators were “masked” with face masks. The regulatory office had spontaneously agreed to this, said a police spokeswoman. According to the police, the elevator was peaceful.

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