A 21-year-old man has been sentenced to over two years in prison in the first trial connected to the violent riots against the G20 summit in Hamburg. The jail term went beyond the sentence recommended by prosecutors.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Heimken
Advertisement
A district court in the northern German city of Hamburg has found a 21-year-old Dutch national guilty of breaching the peace, aggravated battery in the serious assault of an officer and resistance to arrest in connection with violent riots against the G20 summit in July.
The man, who was not named by the court, was sentenced to two years and seven months in prison in a decision that was beyond prosecutors' recommended sentence of one year and nine months.
The roughly 40 or so spectators gathered in the courtroom for Monday's decision expressed shock over the relatively severe sentence.
The 21-year-old threw two bottles at a police officer on July 6 in the Hamburg neighborhood of Schanzenviertel on the evening before the summit began. He also resisted arrest by curling into a fetal position and tensing his muscles.
It was the first decision to be handed down in trials connected to violent riots that took place before and during the July 7-8 Group of 20 (G20) summit in Hamburg.
Hamburg: G20 protests in pictures
Anti-G20 protests in Hamburg have been both peaceful and violent. Up to 100,000 protesters took part in demonstrations.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/D.Bockwoldt
"Schanzenviertel" covered in debris
This part of town was the scene of escalating violence. That did not come as a surprise: The quarter is traditionally the hub of Hamburg's leftist activists. It has been subject to gentrification, turning into a "hip" place to live and magnet for tourists.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/A.Heimken
A night of devastation
Police regained control over the streets of Hamburg in the early hours of the morning.
Image: Reuters/P. Kopczynski
Looting and rioting
Several shops were looted and damaged during the first day of protests.
Image: Reuters/P. Kopczynski
Smoke bombs
Black block protesters were throwing flares at police from behind street baracades. It took several hours for police to really push back in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Image: picture-alliance/ZUMAPRESS/O. Messinger
Fires were lit and shops looted
Fires were set in Hamburg streets and some cars were burned out.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/O. Andersen
Burning barricades
Protesters lit barricades on Friday evening. Throughout the city cars had been set on fire.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/S. Loos
Violence took over as night fell
Cars were burned and barricades set alight as a violent mob stepped up its actions, sidelining the majority of mainly peaceful protesters.
Image: Reuters/H. Hanschke
Black Bloc
Police blamed anarchists with the so-called Black Bloc movement for much of the violence. Black Bloc protesters wear all black and cover their faces to avoid being identified.
Image: picture-alliance/CITYPRESS 24/H. Hay
Battle of G20 Hamburg
Riot police disperse crowds with water cannon vehicles on Friday.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Schrader
Armored vehicles on the streets
Police use water against a woman after she climbed on top of an armoured carrier on Friday.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Schrader
Chasing protesters
Police chased protesters up a hill to gain control of the streets.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Schrader
War zone
A picture published on social media shows smoke rising from the streets during protests on Friday.
Image: Reuters/Social Media
Children among those affected
Violent protests turned several neighborhoods where children usually play into scenes from a warzone.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Heimken/
13 images1 | 13
Thousands of criminal probes
On Monday, Hamburg police said they had opened over 2,000 criminal investigations related to the anti-G20 violence. Thousands of protesters took to Hamburg's streets in demonstrations against capitalism, globalization and the world leaders who took part in the summit.
During some of the protests, violent clashes broke out between left-wing extremists and police. Rioters also looted shops and torched cars parked on the street.
The violence forced German Chancellor Angela Merkel to defend her decision to host the summit in the port city, while others called for Hamburg mayor Olaf Schulz to resign.
The investigations and trials have also prompted criticism that the courts are deliberately targeting foreign nationals.
Defense lawyer Jonathan Burmeister told DW earlier that his Polish client's case is being used to "send a message" to foreigners coming to Germany for the demonstrations.
The site, linksunten-indymedia.org, let anonymous users organize demonstrations but also allowed them to share instructions on making Molotov cocktails and celebrate violence against police.
rs/cmk (AFP, dpa)
Rote Flora: the center of Hamburg's protest movement
Hamburg is no stranger to protest movements. For decades, Rote Flora, an old theater in the city's Sternschanze quarter, has been home to a number left-wing political and cultural organizations.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
A cultural and political hub
Rote Flora, an old theater in Hamburg's Sternschanze quarter, has for years served as a meeting point for the city's left-wing movement. Built in 1888, it hosted concerts and operettas until the Second World War. It emerged undamaged after the war and reopened in 1953 as a cinema before later being turned into a department store.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
1989: Rote Flora becomes left-wing
In 1987, the department store closed down. Subsequent plans to turn the building into a musical theater again were met by protests from residents and local shopkeepers. Soon after, a number of militant groups joined the demonstrations, forcing plans to be completely abandoned. Two years later Rote Flora was declared a squat, while also functioning as a center for political and cultural events.
Image: AP
Violence hits the 2007 G8 summit
During the 2007 G8 summit in Hamburg, Rote Flora served as a convergence center for a number of anti-capitalist protest movements. That prompted large clashes between police and protestors. Authorities also stormed the old theater, detaining a number of protest organizers.
Image: AP
City officials forced to row back on demolition plans
A decision by the city of Hamburg in December 2013 to redevelop the Rote Flora site saw it again become the focus of large and oftentimes violent demonstrations. Just a month later, the borough of Altona went back on its plans, announcing that the building would not be demolished and would remain a cultural center.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
G20 Hamburg: Rota Flora once again becomes a hotbed for protests
Many of the anti-capitalist protest movements seen during this year's G20 summit in Hamburg were organized at Rote Flora, including the "Welcome to Hell" march. However, few would have foreseen just how much the demonstrations would be overshadowed by violence and destruction.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C.Charisius
Violence erupts outside Rote Flora
As the violence escalated around Hamburg on Thursday and Friday night, Rote Flora was quick to distance itself from the so-called "Black Bloc" rioters. Andreas Blechschmidt, a spokesman for Rote Flora, said a "form of militancy had poured out on to the streets which was intoxicated with itself ... and we find that politically ... wrong."
Image: picture-alliance/M.Heine
Violence against police and property prompts tough response
Hamburg police responded to the violence with water canons and tear gas, a response some said only further provoked the rioters. "We saw a Hamburg police force that time and time again opt to use violence," Rote Flora spokesman Andreas Blechschmidt said. "I think that played a role last night [Friday], and made people say to themselves, 'Right, that deserves pay back.'"