Suspected breach of the peace Raids in and around Bonn because of G20 riots
Bonn · Five months after the riots during the G20 summit in Hamburg, the Special Commission is searching “Black Block” apartments in eight German states. Police are also conducting operations in Bonn and in several towns in the Rhine-Sieg district.
After the riots during the G20 summit in Hamburg in the summer, there were raids across Germany on Tuesday morning. Hamburg police said apartments in various federal states had been searched since 6am. The searches are connected to investigations into suspected serious breaches of the peace.
Bonn police were also involved in the nationwide raids. Police spokesman Robert Scholten confirmed this during the morning after being asked by the GA. According to GA information, several properties in Bonn’s Altstadt were among those searched. These are apparently rooms used by Verdi-Jugend Bonn. Several members were arrested in Hamburg after the riots. Three of them were remanded in custody for a time but were released again after several days. Hamburg police said a total of six properties were searched in Bonn.
Searches in the Rhine-Sieg district
Officers also conducted operations in areas under the responsibility of the Rhine-Sieg police. Burkhard Rick, spokesman for the district police authorities in Siegburg, confirmed this. According to a Hamburg police spokesman, properties in Siegburg, Hangelar and Niederkassel were affected.
A spokesman for the Hamburg police said the aim was to secure further evidence. As well as the apartments in Bonn, in the Rhine-Sieg district and in Cologne, properties in cities in Hamburg, Berlin, Hessen, Baden-Württemberg, Sachsen-Anhalt, Rheinland-Pflaz and Niedersachsen were searched.
According to NDR (North German radio) information, police searched 24 properties. NDR said the police also concentrated on the left-wing extremist group “Rote Aufbau.” It had blatantly threatened violence during the G20 summit. “With us, there are Molotov cocktails instead of a champagne reception,” Rote Aufbau had declared at a demonstration and on social media networks.
Investigations into breaches of the peace
The searches were carried out in connection with investigations into riots during a police operation in the Hamburg district of Bahrenfeld, on the fringes of the G20 summit. According to information from “Die Welt” newspaper, the public prosecutor’s office in Hamburg is investigating 21 men and women for serious breach of the peace. It is hoped the raids will provide evidence for the investigations into these incidents. At the time, the federal police took action against around 200 demonstrators because they had had stones and bottles thrown at them. After analysis of an operational video, the media had reported that officers had only had three flares thrown at them.
(Original text: ga/afp/dpa. Translated by Kate Carey)
