Protests spread across Germany over killing of George Floyd in US

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What you need to know:

  • Police said around 15,000 participants gathered at Alexanderplatz Square in Berlin alone.
  • Floyd, 46, died on May 25 after a white police officer knelt on his neck.
  • Berlin police said they made a number of arrests after a group of demonstrators threw bottles.

Berlin

Tens of thousands of people in Germany demonstrated on Saturday against racism and police brutality following the killing of African American George Floyd in the US city of Minneapolis.

According to police, around 15,000 participants gathered at Alexanderplatz Square in Berlin alone, but only 1,500 participants had registered for the event. This was despite the social distancing order due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Police officers said on Twitter that the square was full and asked people to stop arriving.

Floyd, 46, died on May 25 after a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes while he was handcuffed facing down on a Minneapolis street.

SILENT DEMONSTRATION

In Germany, many of the demonstrators in black clothes carried banners supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. Organisers called for a silent demonstration lasting exactly 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the time it took for Floyd to lose consciousness as the police officer knelt on his neck.

Berlin police said they made a number of arrests after a group of demonstrators threw bottles and stones at officers. One officer was injured.

In a separate incident, a press photographer was hit on the head with a bottle, police added.

MUNICH DEMO

Around 25,000 demonstrators took to the streets in Munich, but according to the police, only 200 people had registered for the event. The meeting area was finally expanded to make more space to allow demonstrators to follow the social distancing order.

In Hamburg, the police said a total of 14,000 people joined the demonstrations in two almost simultaneous rallies at Jungfernstieg and Rathausmarkt, but only around 800 were allowed because of the anti-coronavirus measures.

SOLIDARITY

The Hamburg police had already declared their solidarity before the demonstrations.

"We are by your side!" tweeted it before the rallies started.

"Racism shouldn't have a place in our society. We work every day so that everyone in Hamburg can feel safe."

Other cities like Frankfurt, Mannheim and Stuttgart were also full of demonstrators on Saturday.

Calls for "Silent Demos" had been published on the Internet, calling for "No to racism" and "Black Lives Matter."