Motto just a cover? - Court overturns demo ban
The Frankfurt Administrative Court has overturned the ban on a demonstration which, according to the city, had been registered under a deliberately false title. The court ruled on Thursday - immediately before the start of the planned assembly - that the demonstration "Never again fascism - keep the memory of the Reichspogromnacht alive, fight anti-Semitism" may take place.
According to the court, the city had justified the ban by stating that the applicant had previously called for pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli rallies in Frankfurt and Berlin. The registered topic was "a cover" for a more anti-Semitic event.
The court came to the conclusion that the prohibition order was clearly unlawful. A ban on assembly as the most severe possible restriction of the constitutionally protected freedom of assembly can only be imposed if public safety is directly endangered by the assembly. It could not be ruled out that the actual motto would be "extended". Nevertheless, an immediate danger to public safety could not be assumed.
Should criminal acts occur during the assembly planned for Thursday evening - the day of remembrance for the victims of the anti-Jewish pogroms of the National Socialists of 1938 - the authorities could react to this at any time. An appeal against the decision can be lodged with the Hessian Administrative Court in Kassel within two weeks.
Despite the city's concerns about the demonstration's true intentions due to the organizer's past extremist activities, the Frankfurt Administrative Court allowed the event, recognizing that a ban on assembly could only be imposed if public safety was in immediate danger. However, the court noted that the possibility of the demonstration's motto being extended to include extremist sentiments could not be ignored.
Source: www.dpa.com
