Extremism: Lina E.: Police are preparing for a large-scale operation

As planned, the police are preparing for a large-scale operation in Leipzig in connection with demonstrations for the alleged left-wing extremist Lina E. “We created our risk forecast regardless of the outcome of the process,” said a spokeswoman for the Leipzig police department on request.

The 28-year-old student Lina E. was sentenced to five years and three months in prison by the Dresden Higher Regional Court on Wednesday for left-wing acts of violence. However, the court suspended the arrest warrant subject to conditions, so that she was released.

Demonstrations nationwide for the so-called “Day X” have long been announced for the Saturday after the verdict was announced. In Leipzig alone, the police expect the number of participants to be in the four-digit range and feared that violent leftists would arrive in the three-digit number. The police take threats on the Internet seriously, according to which Lina E. and three men who have also been sentenced to prison terms are to be avenged every year for property damage of one million euros. The Saxony State Criminal Police Office also expects “resonant crimes” as a result of the verdict.

In the evening, the city announced the ban on a meeting planned for Saturday in the Connewitz district. The demonstration should have the motto “United we stand – Despite everything, defend autonomous anti-fascism!” stand and was the only known registered meeting on that day. The reason for the ban was the danger forecasts by the Leipzig police department, the situation assessments by the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution and other findings by the assembly authority, it said.

Union: Police officers are now particularly challenged and threatened

After the guilty verdict, sympathizers protested against the verdict in several cities on Wednesday evening. There were some riots and clashes. According to a police spokesman, a meeting in Leipzig was declared over after bottles and pyrotechnics were thrown in the direction of the officers. According to the police, around 350 mostly masked people attacked emergency services in Bremen. “The actions of the perpetrators are characterized by a high degree of organization, planning and brutality,” said Jochen Kopelke, head of the police union. He sees police officers now particularly challenged and threatened.

Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser criticized the riots in the strongest possible terms. “Vigilante justice is not allowed in our country,” said the SPD politician on the sidelines of a visit by the federal police at Munich Airport. Faeser called out to everyone who took to the streets because of the verdict against Lina E. and protested violently there: “That’s not the right way. We live in a constitutional state. Court judgments can be checked there. You can take action if you want that. But responding with violence is the wrong answer altogether.”

Court: stay of arrest warrant normal procedure

Upon request, the OLG Dresden once again commented on the decision to suspend the arrest warrant for Lina E. Court spokesman Torsten Umbach, like the German Association of Judges, spoke of a normal procedure for suspects who have not previously been convicted. If you are serving a sentence for the first time, you will usually be released after two thirds of the time if you behave well. “The arrest warrant has not been lifted, it has been suspended.” In such a weighing process, the social circumstances and the personality of those affected would also be taken into account. If Lina E. went into hiding, she would risk the two-thirds rule.

According to the conditions, the student now has to report to the police twice a week. She may only change her place of residence noted in the file with the consent of the court and must also hand in her identity card after her passport. The remaining sentence – a good year in the event that the two-thirds rule applies – only has to be served when the verdict is final.

The suspension of the arrest warrant also caused a stir because several members of the group to which Lina E. is assigned have disappeared. After disappearing from the radar of the security authorities, suspected members of the group are said to have been involved in raids on the fringes of the right-wing extremist “Day of Honour” in Budapest in February. The President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Thomas Haldenwang, said on Wednesday: “It is also worrying that an increasing number of violent left-wing extremists are trying to avoid prosecution and may have gone into hiding.”