In many East German cities, thousands of people demonstrated on Monday evening against rising energy prices, the consequences of the war in Ukraine and measures related to the corona pandemic. According to the police in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Brandenburg, the protests were peaceful and there were no riots until the evening. In many places fewer participants came than expected.
Parallel to the celebrations in Wittenberg in Saxony-Anhalt on the occasion of Reformation Day, there were also protests. According to a police spokeswoman, around 2,700 people were counted.
Hundreds of people gathered in Bautzen, Saxony. There, unknown persons had set a fire in a planned refugee accommodation on Friday. Police investigations initially yielded no results as to whether the crime was politically motivated.
According to a spokesman, the police in Leipzig counted around 700 participants and 500 in counter-protests. There were several sit-ins on the streets. The spokesman said that several complaints had been made about violating the Assembly Act. In addition, a journalist was hindered in his work. 600 people demonstrated in Torgau, a good 50 kilometers away.
In Thuringia, according to the information, more than 2,100 people joined the protests in the cities of Apolda, Hermsdorf, Kahla, Jena and Weimar. In Weimar, two criminal charges were filed for insult and attempted bodily harm.
There were also protests in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, for example in Rostock. The police there spoke of around 270 participants. There were no incidents until the evening, said a spokesman.
