Germany
Tuesday 13.4.2021 Germany - Latest Developments -
Journalists continuously targeted at anti-COVID-19 protests
Over the last few months during protests against COVID-19 measures, journalists covering protests have continued to face attacks. anti-COVID-19 protests took place in the city of Kassel in reaction to the COVID-19 measures implemented in Germany and during a rise of infections in the country. The police made use of water cannon when protesters tried to break through a barrier of agents. The police also employed batons and pepper spray to disperse a protest that they defined as not peaceful. Some protesters were detained, Read more
Tuesday 9.2.2021 Germany - Latest Developments -
Freedom of expression under the spotlight - yet again
Freedom of expression has once again come under attack during this reporting period. The Volksverpetzer, a German blog aimed at dispelling fake news and that has most recently been tackling facts around the COVID-19 pandemic, was threatened with legal action by Wolfgang Wodarg who is demanding damages of 250,000 EUR alongside an injunction. Four protests were scheduled to take place at Braunschweig train station and on Burgplatz, organised by right wing group Die Rechte calling for "End lockdown - save livelihoods". Journalists reported that they were ‘de facto’ excluded from the protests at Burgplatz and were only allowed to be in a designated area where they could not hear or see what was taking place. The Walter-Lübcke school in Wolfhagen, Hesse, was threatened in a letter signed ‘NSU 2.0’, referring to a neo-Nazi cell that murdered immigrants between 2000 and 2007. Read more
Thursday 7.1.2021 Germany - Latest Developments -
Journalists continue to face attacks, death threats during protests against COVID-19 measures
On 18th November 2020, about 5,000 people gathered outside the Bundestag in Berlin to protest against stricter COVID-19 measures. The protest was broken up by the police and 31 protesters were detained. The demonstration fits within a larger wave of protests which have taken place all over the country over the past few months, which includes a protest of more than 20,000 in the eastern city of Leipzig against COVID-19 measures. Journalists continue to face physical attacks, harassment and death threats during coverage of protests against COVID-19 measures. Read more
Wednesday 4.11.2020 Germany - Latest Developments -
Climate protests and actions amid COVID-19, attacks on journalists continue
A number of protests for environmental rights have been staged during the reporting period. On 26th September 2020, anti-coal protesters staged demonstrations against the use of fossil fuels at mines in Western Germany. Protesters dressed in overalls managed to gain access into the coal storage facilities. Some protesters were detained by officers. In early October 2020, thousands of climate activists gathered in the Dannenröder forest in Hessen to protest the felling of 27 hectares of forest to make way for an extension of the Autobahn. Police destroyed barricades and treehouses of activists who have been occupying parts of the forest for the last year and arrested 16 people so far. On 5th October 2020, Extinction Rebellion activists commenced a week of actions. Attacks on journalists have continued, with several attempts of preventing them from doing their jobs. Read more
Tuesday 8.9.2020 Germany - Latest Developments -
Massive protests against COVID-19 measures; journalists’ safety compromised during protests
Protests against the measures intended to limit the spread of COVID-19 in Germany have continued and attracted increasingly more supporters from extremist groups, often turning violent. The protesters seem to represent only a small fraction of the German population, as opinion polls show strong public support for the government’s COVID-19 measures. Similar to previous demonstrations, these protest were supported by a wide range of interest groups, including left- and right-wing extremists, neo-Nazis, Pegida, anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theorists. Participants failed to respect social distancing rules which resulted in police dispersing the march. Several arrests were also made and several journalists report they were verbally or physically attacked.
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Thursday 9.7.2020 Germany - Latest Developments -
Court finds German mass surveillance law disregards press freedom, large turnout at BLM protests
German CSOs report that they were not consulted when the first confinement measures were introduced during to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, warnings about the effects that the lockdown might have on domestic violence were not heard in time. They state that government prioritised corporate interests over social interests and that CSOs cannot count on financial support from the government. During May 2020 several protests were staged by far-right groups in various cities against lockdown measures. Black Lives Matter protests took place in several German cities with large turnouts. In Berlin which drew one of the largest numbers, police and protesters clashed and several protesters were arrested. In a win for press freedom, the German Federal Constitutional Court ruled that Germany’s foreign intelligence service Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) law, which enables mass surveillance, disregards both the freedom of the press and the freedom of telecommunications as it does not recognise that foreign surveillance must be conducted in conformity with the Basic Law. The ruling makes clear that journalists must be granted special protection.
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Tuesday 12.5.2020 Germany - Latest Developments -
Far-right protest against lockdown restrictions; activists protest in creative ways during COVID-19
Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic there is a ban in place for gatherings of over 20 people. Despite this, a number of demonstrations have been held. Far-right groups gathered to protest governments confinement measures. Meanwhile, far- left groups gathered for May Day protests and called for solidarity towards refugees. In a worrying development, there have been two seperate incidents where media crews were attacked during protests. Read more
Wednesday 25.3.2020 Germany - Latest Developments -
Rise of right-wing extremism continues
Citizens have expressed outrage in the form of protest over the rise of the far-right in Germany. Protests were held over the ongoing political dealings with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) Party. The rise of right-wing extremism has also continued. On 19th February 2020 a gunman killed nine people in two different hookah bars in Hanau, just outside Frankfurt. Authorities consider the attack to be racially motivated. The incident sparked protests around the country. Read more
Tuesday 7.1.2020 Germany - Latest Developments -
Synagogue attack leads to protest and debate on hate speech laws
On 9th October 2019 a gunman tried to enter a Synagogue in the city of Halle during a celebration of Yom Kippur, Judaism's holiest day. After he was unable to enter the synagogue, the man opened fire on a woman in the street and a man in a nearby kebab shop, killing them both. The attacks were streamed through an online video streaming platform. The incident has led to protests around Germany. The German government reacted by proposing a new hate speech law which forces social media platforms to report illegal content to law enforcement. Read more
Thursday 12.9.2019 Germany - Latest Developments -
Protest against neo-Nazi demonstration in German city of Kassel
On 20th July 2019, thousands of people host a counter-protest against a demonstration by the neo-Nazi Group “Die Rechte” in the city of Kassel. The demonstration remained calm and peaceful. Read more
