Violence at pro-Palestine demonstration: 24-year-old arrested
Following violent clashes with the police at pro-Palestinian demonstrations, a 24-year-old man has been remanded in custody. As the police and public prosecutor's office announced on Tuesday, the man of unknown nationality was arrested on Monday. As he was already the subject of an arrest warrant, he was remanded in custody. He is suspected of attacking police officers during rallies in connection with the Gaza war.
According to the public prosecutor's office, the 24-year-old is being investigated for attempted aggravated coercion, three counts of resisting law enforcement officers and attempted release of prisoners. According to the information provided, the incidents occurred when the police intervened at pro-Palestinian demonstrations and issued bans or wanted to record the personal details of those involved.
At a demonstration one week after the terrorist attack on Israel by Islamist Hamas on October 7, the 24-year-old allegedly told police officers that Hamas would kill them. He is said to have "affirmatively stroked his throat with his finger". On November 11, he allegedly threatened to use a folding knife when police officers tried to enforce an order to leave.
On November 16, the man then allegedly tried to prevent the arrest of a participant in an anti-Israeli rally outside a restaurant in Neukölln. He is said to have demanded that bystanders give him a knife. "His actions could only be stopped when a supporting police officer drew his service weapon," the public prosecutor's office said.
In addition to police officers, the 24-year-old is said to have threatened two security guards at a hostel in Niederschöneweide when they tried to enforce a house ban against him, the authorities added.
The violent demonstrations resulted in increased reports of crime, with instances of extremist rhetoric directed towards law enforcement. The arrested individual's actions during the war-related protests have been linked to these troubling trends.
Source: www.dpa.com
