Police arrest a protester during an unannounced demonstration at the Victory Column in Berlin on Sunday 1 August
Thousands turned out in Berlin to protest the German government’s anti-coronavirus measures despite a ban on gatherings, which led to clashes with police and the detention of nearly 600 protesters. Local authorities banned several separate protests this weekend, including the Stuttgart-based Querdenker movement, but protesters in Berlin defied the ban.
Berlin’s police department deployed more than 2,000 officers to disperse the protests on Sunday, but it said it “harassed and assaulted” officers seeking to redirect protesters or disband larger groups Went.
“They tried to break the police cordon and take out our allies,” Berlin police said, adding that the officers had to use batons and batons.
As the crowd made their way through Berlin’s Charlottenburg neighborhood from Tiergarten Park to the Brandenburg Gate, police warned via loudspeakers that they would use water cannons if protesters did not disperse. According to German media, as of Sunday evening, police had taken about 600 people into custody, and protesters were still marching through the city.
Germany eased many of its coronavirus restrictions in May, including the reopening of restaurants and bars. Still, many activities, such as eating indoors at restaurants or staying in hotels, require proof that a person has either been fully vaccinated, recovered from the virus, or recently Can show evidence of a negative coronavirus test.
Although the number of new coronavirus cases in Germany is low compared to neighboring countries, the delta version has seen a surge in new infections over the past few weeks. On Sunday, Germany reported 2,097 new cases, an increase of more than 500 from the previous Sunday.
The most visible anti-lockdown movement in Germany, the Querdencker movement has drawn thousands to its demonstrations in Berlin, both on the right and left, including those opposing vaccination, coronavirus deniers, conspiracy theorists and right-wing extremists An unequal mixture has been united. .
Earlier this year, Germany’s domestic intelligence service warned that the movement was becoming increasingly radicalized and that some of its followers were under surveillance.
Germany’s parliament speaker Wolfgang Schaubl on Sunday sharply criticized the Querdencker movement, encouraging people not to be fooled by “cheap slogans”.
“If practically all the experts around the world say coronavirus is dangerous and vaccination helps, then who has the right to say, really, I’m smarter than that?” He told the New Osnabrücker Zeitung. “For me, it’s an almost unbearable level of arrogance.”
The protests follow other demonstrations against coronavirus measures across Europe.
More than 200,000 people turned out in France on Saturday to protest vaccination requirements for the third weekend in a row, at times clashing with police. Another 80,000 people protested in cities across Italy over the past weekend.
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