Berlin: Rally in solidarity with the imprisoned LLL demonstrators and those subjected to police violence

We publish this unofficial translation of the report which was sent to and published by Dem Volke Dienen.

This evening a rally in solidarity with those subjected to police violence and the two demonstrators who were imprisoned during this year’s Lenin-Liebknecht-Luxemburg demonstration took place in front of the Moabit prison.

The rally was a vocal sign against the rampage of the police against the legal and notified LLL demonstration, which took place on the 14th of January. In the speeches of the ”Initiative Freedom for the imprisoned of the LLL demonstration” the massive and brutal police violence which took place in the LLL demonstration was condemned. Slogans such as ”The hits came from the police – free the imprisoned!” and ”Where is justice? That was police violence!” made clear that the discussion is not about ”pictures taken out of context” like the Interior Senator Iris Spranger (SPD) claimed in the Chamber of Deputies, but it must be about the clearly intentional violence from the police against the demonstrators.

Various organizations held speeches in solidarity and reaffirmed their support to those subjected to police violence and the imprisoned demonstrators. Also members of media, who had already reported on the events of the LLL demonstration were present. For example the daily newspaper taz reported beforehand on the solidarity rally, sharing the place and time of the rally, and wrote among others on the large amount of injured participants of the demonstration. But for example also the daily newspaper junge Welt described in their articles how the chief constable Barbara Slowik and Interior Senator Spranger were shedding crocodile tears for the ”real victims of violence”, the weighted-knuckle-glove-Rambos.

In another speech of the ”Initiative Freedom for the Imprisoned of the LLL demonstration” some reports of the experiences of the demonstration medics, who were on the scene on the 14th of January, were described briefly. Through this it was made clear that the police on this day was not only hitting around wildly and without any caution but also partly actively neglected medical aid and hindered the work of the demonstration medics. Also the despicable high-point of this violence, the attack on a 65-year-old demonstrator was described and how the Berlin police through the hindering of medical treatment had willingly accepted the death of the demonstrator.

But the Interior Senator Spranger saw it too unimportant to speak of these points during her speech in the Chamber of Deputies. To this moment there is no open criminal cases against the beating police. But of the demonstrators detained on the 14th of January, two still sits in custody at this moment, because they are accused of resisting the violence perpetrated by the police. The initiative once more expressed their demands: the imprisoned LLL-demonstrators should be released and the prosecution against those subjected to police violence should be disregarded and the beating police should be brought to justice.

The demands did not only gain support among the participants of the rally. Also from the prison sounded loud shouting and whistles to support the rally.