Almost all those arrested on New Year's Eve in Berlin released again
On New Year's Eve, a massive contingent of thousands of police officers is on the streets of Berlin and arrests 390 people - almost all of whom have since been released. As a rule, the suspects are alleged to have committed minor offenses. There are serious charges in twelve cases.
Two days after many riots and 390 provisional arrests on New Year's Eve in Berlin, almost all of the suspected troublemakers and rioters have been released. One man, however, has been remanded in custody for violating the Weapons Act. According to a police spokesman, most of the suspects arrested had only had their identities established on the spot or at a nearby police station during the night and had then been released.
This is normal anyway for misdemeanors such as firing alarm guns. Even less serious offenses such as dangerous handling of fireworks, bodily harm and resisting the police are not usually grounds for prolonged police custody or pre-trial detention, the spokesman said. Twelve suspects had been brought before a magistrate for serious offenses, but they had also been released in the meantime.
After New Year's Eve, the police announced that they had provisionally arrested 390 people during the night and initiated 720 criminal investigations, mainly for arson, violations of the Explosives Act, assaulting and resisting police officers. 54 police officers were injured, 30 of them by pyrotechnics. The figures are not yet final. They were also significantly higher than in previous years because many more police officers were deployed. The Senate in Berlin spoke of a successful operational concept.
Across Germany, rescue workers were deployed thousands of times and around 100 officers were injured, according to initial police estimates. The police in North Rhine-Westphalia counted 1,186 people ordered to leave the scene during New Year's Eve operations between 6 p.m. on Sunday and 6 a.m. on Monday, and 26 people were arrested. In NRW, 21 police officers were injured.
(An initial version of the text stated that all those arrested had been released. However, the police and public prosecutor's office later officially corrected their statements).
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Despite the high number of arrests on International New Year's Eve in Berlin, the majority of individuals were eventually released. Despite the events, New Year's Eve celebrations in North Rhine-Westphalia remained relatively peaceful, leading to fewer arrests compared to Berlin. The police in Berlin, however, reported a significant increase in the number of arrests compared to previous years, indicating a heightened presence of law enforcement.
Source: www.ntv.de
