The climate protection group Last Generation wants to paralyze Berlin for a long time with numerous disruptions and road blockades by hundreds of demonstrators. This is intended to push through their demands for a radical change in climate policy. Actions are planned in the government district from this Wednesday, and then throughout the capital from Monday. The Berlin police were already preparing for the actions in order to intervene quickly.
What legal options do the police have to prevent blockades in advance?
Within the framework of so-called danger speeches, the police can warn known criminals of further crimes. This happened last year in Berlin in almost 200 cases with climate protectors who had stuck to the streets.
Under certain circumstances, the police can also evict people from squares or streets or prohibit them from staying there. According to the Security and Order Act, these measures must serve to avert danger or prevent criminal offenses. Facts must exist which indicate that the person concerned will commit a crime.
3000
investigative proceedings of the Berlin police are currently running against climate activists.
In addition, the police can lock someone up, in legal jargon take them into so-called preventive custody in order to prevent criminal offenses. This measure must be ordered by a judge. The so-called on-call court on Tempelhofer Damm is responsible for this. The judiciary does not initially expect significantly more cases in the next few days. If necessary, a second investigating judge can be called in at any time, a court spokeswoman said. By the beginning of the year, there had been around 250 demonstrations in Berlin.
Detention in Berlin may last a maximum of 48 hours. The coalition of SPD, Greens and Left had reduced the period from four days to two days. In other federal states, more days are possible. In Bavaria, for example, blockers were locked up for much longer as a preventive measure.
Pre-trial detention with an arrest warrant after an arrest is almost never necessary in such cases because the offenses are not serious enough and the suspects have permanent residences.
Do fines scare activists away?
In Berlin, almost 3,000 police investigations are already underway into coercion and dangerous interference in road traffic, trespassing, property damage and resistance to police officers. 800 blockers are known by name. The police sent out hundreds of notices of fees for more than 241 euros, and in many cases repeat offenders received several requests for fees. So far, a few dozen blockers have been sentenced by courts to mostly small fines.
However, it is doubtful whether these demands and penalties will act as a deterrent. The last generation has been collecting donations for their campaigns, blockade actions and court costs for a long time. According to her transparency report, she collected around 900,000 euros last year, from which fines are also paid.
What tactics are the police using to try to prevent blockades that have been announced?
During the blockades of motorway exits last year, the Berlin police often posted civilian police officers at certain exits early in the morning. They were meant to intervene quickly at the start of a planned blockade, before protesters could get stuck.
The police will probably proceed similarly in the next few days and observe places such as ministries, party headquarters and transport hubs. However, there are more potential blockade targets in the government district and downtown Berlin than on the freeways, which makes countermeasures more difficult. A police spokeswoman only said that the blockades were being prepared, but could not give any details about the operational planning or the expected locations.
Apparently, the police have significantly more emergency services than usual on standby. You have to be able to “react to dynamic situations as quickly as possible”, explained the police union (GdP). Rosters would be “thrown overboard” and police officers “alerted on duty” to keep an eye on the blockers’ camp in Invalidenpark in Mitte. (dpa)
