3,000 people marched through Essen on Friday – possibly with banned Taliban symbols. Interior Minister Faeser calls this “unbearable”. Now he is being investigated for sedition.
After the controversial pro-Palestine demonstration in Essen on Friday, the police are investigating one of the speakers for incitement. The authority announced this in coordination with the public prosecutor’s office. According to police, symbols and signs such as those used by the “Islamic State” were also displayed at the march.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) said the conditions at the protest demonstration were “unbearable”. “What we saw there is not compatible with our understanding of democracy, with our idea of peaceful coexistence in our democratic society,” said Faeser to the German Press Agency.
In Germany everyone is allowed to express their opinions freely and demonstrate peacefully. “But the red line is: There is zero tolerance for anti-Semitic and anti-Israel incitement, there is zero tolerance for violence. We do not tolerate that an Islamic theocracy is propagated on our streets,” said Faeser. Anyone who abuses freedoms in order to propagate crimes and hatred cannot rely on the protection of freedom of expression. This line must be consistently enforced, including with tough police intervention.
Also IS symbols shown on demo
After the controversial demonstration, the police are now investigating one of the speakers for sedition, as the authorities announced in coordination with the public prosecutor’s office. According to police, symbols and signs such as those used by the “Islamic State” were also displayed at the march.
Around 3,000 people came to the peaceful demonstration. Women and children had to walk at the end of the elevator and stand in a different place than the men during the final rally, the police reported.
Essen’s mayor Thomas Kufen (CDU) was outraged: “It’s hard to bear. Islamists, anti-democrats and Jew-haters move through Essen, protected by the German Basic Law,” explained Kufen. “The initiators were obviously less concerned with the suffering of the people in the Gaza Strip and more concerned with spreading radical Islamist slogans.”
The Essen police said there were numerous images and audio recordings of last Friday’s meeting. These are currently being evaluated by the State Police, Islamic scholars and interpreters.
Source: Stern
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