The investigations into the riots in connection with the Eritrea Festival in Gießen continue. A large number of videos and photographs are currently being evaluated, said a police spokesman in Gießen. In view of the amount of material, it will probably take several weeks.
At least 26 police officers were injured at the festival in July. Opponents of the event attacked officials with stones and bottles and set off smoke bombs. They broke through barriers and tried to get onto the festival site. The police used pepper spray and batons.
By the end of the festival, the police had registered 125 criminal complaints, almost exclusively for breach of the peace. 131 people were taken into custody, it was said at the time when the operation was recorded. In more than 1,800 cases, people were checked or their identities determined.
The organizer of the festival was the Central Council of Eritreans in Germany, which is considered controversial because of its proximity to the regime in the country on the Horn of Africa. In Eritrea, President Isayas Afewerki rules the country in a one-party dictatorship. Freedom of expression and freedom of the press are severely restricted. Human rights organizations also repeatedly reported serious abuses. As early as August 2022, there had been violent riots with injured visitors and police officers at the previous event.
