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In Germany, neo-Nazis get to march but threats are verboten

Police in Berlin have given far-right extremists permission to hold a 500-person strong rally commemorating the death of Adolf Hitler's deputy Rudolf Hess in the city's western district of Spandau.

 

Howver, police have told organizers they can march, but they're not allowed to glorify Hess, who died at Spandau prison 30 years ago. The neo-Nazis are allowed to bring banners: but only one for every 50 participants. And military music is strictly forbidden, unless a court overturns that rule before Saturday's march.

 

Such restrictions are common in Germany and rooted in the experience of the pre-war Weimar Republic, when opposing political groups would try to forcibly interrupt their rivals' rallies, resulting in frequent bloody street violence, said Sven Richwin, a Berlin lawyer. The exact rules differ according to the circumstances, but police in Germany generally try to balance protesters' rights to free speech and free assembly against the rights of counter-demonstrators and residents, he said. "Anything intimidating is 'verboten.'"

 


פרסום ראשון: 08.18.17, 21:29