2018 Chemnitz protests

2018 Chemnitz protests
The Brückenstraße in Chemnitz, where the stabbing attack and several protests occurred
Location Brückenstraße, Chemnitz, Germany
Date 26 August – 1 September 2018
Attack type
 Street demonstrations, rioting
Deaths 1
Non-fatal injuries
 23+

The 2018 Chemnitz protests took place in Chemnitz, in the German state of Saxony. In the early morning of 26 August, after a festival celebrating the city's founding, a fight broke out resulting in the death of a German-Cuban man and serious injuries to two other people. Two Kurdish immigrants, one Iraqi, and one Syrian were named as suspects. The incident re-ignited the tensions surrounding immigration to Germany, which had been ongoing since 2015 and the European migrant crisis. In response, mass protests against immigration were ignited by far-right nationalist groups. The protests spawned riots and were followed by counter-demonstrations.

Background

Chemnitz was named Karl-Marx Stadt when it was part of East Germany, from 1953 to 1990. In 2017, almost a quarter of the city's residents voted in elections for the far-right political party Alternative for Germany (AfD).[1]

In 2015, the German borders remained open during the European migrant crisis, and nearly 1 million migrants applied for asylum by the end of 2016.[2] People born in other countries make up over 12% of the German population;[3] many German people are suspicious or wary of immigrants, and some hold anti-immigration sentiments.[4]

Fight and stabbing

Incident

At 03.15 am on Sunday 26 August, a brawl erupted in the street of Brückenstraße in Chemnitz. According to police, the fight was between "several people of various nationalities".[5] Up to 10 people were at the scene.[6] Three of them were stabbed and seriously injured; one of the three, Daniel Hillig, later died in hospital.[6]

Victims

Daniel Hillig, who was stabbed during the protests and died in hospital, was a 35-year-old German-Cuban carpenter, the son of a German mother and a Cuban father.[6] The two other people who were seriously injured were Russian-German.[6]

Hillig grew up in a Cuban migrant neighborhood, and was apparently well-known by many people and various political groups in the city.[7] At the location where he was stabbed, a large memorial was set up, where people gathered to mourn.[8][1][7][9]

Hillig was a football supporter of Chemnitzer FC, and some have speculated that this might have contributed to the strong fan reaction; the Chemnitzer fan club representative and local politician Peggy Schellenberg (SPD) visited the crime scene immediately on Sunday.[10]

Suspects

Suspects include a 23-year-old Syrian and a 22-year-old Iraqi, who were taken into custody near the scene.[11] The German district court issued an arrest warrant for them on 27 August.[12] The same day, the prosecutors said that the two men were suspected of having stabbed Hillig several times "with no justifiable reason".[13] One of these suspects was named in the days after the attack as Yousif Ibrahim Abdullah from Bashiqa, and the arrest warrant for him was leaked in multiple newspapers on August 28, which goes against German privacy regulations.[14][15] Abdullah is accused of stabbing Hillig five times, including the fatal hits to his pericardium and lung. The other suspect was identified as Alaa Sheikhi, although his motivations have yet to be revealed.[16]

Yousif Abdullah has a criminal record with six offences, which include fraud and drug possession. He was most recently sentenced in July 2018 to a suspended sentence of eight months for dangerous bodily harm.[16] He came to Germany in 2015 via the Balkans and was to be deported in 2016 to Bulgaria, where he had first applied for asylum, but a six month deadline for the deportation was missed by the German authorities.[17] His application for asylum was rejected, but he won in the legal proceedings afterwards; he used an alleged love affair as the justification for this later rejected application for asylum, saying that the brother and uncle of a girl he was in love with had beaten him up and injured him with a knife.[18] Three days after the stabbing of Hillig his application for asylum was rejected again.[18] He has also used two different identities, and forged documents, during the asylum proceedings.[18] He was known for always carrying a knife with him.[16][19][17]

Police in Saxony announced on 4 September that they were "urgently" seeking a third suspect in the murder, Farhad Ramazan Ahmad, listing him as a 22-year-old Iraqi citizen who was possibly armed and dangerous.[20]

Reactions to stabbing

The festival during which the stabbing happened ended earlier than planned because of the stabbing. It was on this day that protests began in the city.[21][22] Chancellor Angela Merkel's office condemned the demonstration on Twitter.[23] German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) expressed his condolences to Hillig's family. Seehofer said that the "consternation" of the people was "understandable", but on the other hand he condemned the violence. He also stated that the local police were in a "difficult situation", and offered Federal Police help to Saxony.[24]

One German politician, Martina Renner from the radical Left party, accused right-wing people of exploiting the apparent murder to their own political ends, also reminding people in the days following the attack that the motivation was still unclear.[8]

On 31 August 2018, Franziska Giffey, German Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, visited the crime scene of the stabbing, being the first member of the German federal government to do so.[25] The media asked why Merkel "sent the Family Affairs Minister" on such an errand.[26]

Police criticism

Friends of the victim criticised the police in Chemnitz for their "failure to control the three-day city festival". Some of the leftist protesters used slogans that criticised police for not being there when Hillig was stabbed but appearing at the protests, with journalists noting that there had been fighting before the attack at the festival.[7]

There were several rumours circulating after the stabbing, including that the attack was in response to sexual harassment, and that another of the injured men had died. Chemnitz police took to social media to stop these. It was reported that the misinformation and inability to stop its spread contributed to the strength of the riots.[7]

The politician Kerstin Köditz said that the police took too long to react, and questioned how they didn't have any action or even a plan to put into action once they knew that somebody had been killed at a festival.[13]

Police arrested a 21-year-old Iraqi national and a 22-year-old Syrian on suspicion of manslaughter.[27] A special prosecutor charged with handling extremism in Saxony was given charge of the case.[28] The prosecutor in Chemnitz has rejected any claims that the suspects were acting in self-defense.[29]

Protests

Far-right protesters in Chemnitz on 27 August 2018. The banner demands Kriminelle.. Ausländer raus! ("Criminal.. foreigners out!").

As a response to the stabbing, far-right groups protested against migrants and refugees coming to Germany. Leftist groups began counter protests nearby.[7]

The first protest was an Alternative for Germany demonstration in the afternoon, a small rally of about 100 people, to encourage the government to be stricter on immigration, which finished without any violence.[8]

In the evening, another protest was organised by football hooligans belonging to the right-wing Kaotic Chemnitz group over social media.[30] This protest became violent, and the group also incited individuals to attack and harass foreign people and people who looked non-German. The rioters attacked police officers who were deployed to calm the protests. There were also more demonstrations announced by both leftist and right-wing groups.[30][12][22]

The riots and protests continued into the next day, with the Pro Chemnitz right-wing populist group organising a large protest. This was initially 800 people gathered at the city's iconic Karl Marx monument,[8][31] Deutsche Welle reports that this group quickly became thousands, and grew less peaceful,[7] police counted up to 6,000 protesters.[32] As this group grew, the counter-protest began on the other side of the square, with about 1,500 people.[32] Initially, the two main protesting groups were a short distance from each other facing off, with a riot police line of 600 officers between them.[7][32]

The protests became violent at around 9pm local time on Monday 27 August, when the far-right protesters began to actively demonstrate and move.[30] Masked protesters from both sides began to throw solid objects and fireworks, with some right-wing protesters also performing the Nazi salute. At least twenty people were injured.[7][32] An extensive police force equipped with water cannons was deployed and a second set of demonstrators belonging to the far left were kept at a distance by police.[33] The rioters had reportedly simmered down by Tuesday morning,[7] but far-right groups encouraged people to continue protesting.[9]

The anti-immigration group, calling themselves Pro-Chemnitz, had created banners with right-wing slogans which they carried during the protest. There were also reports of Neo-Nazi groups taking part, which included The III. Path, the National Democratic Party of Germany,[34][35] Die Rechte, Freie Kameradschaften groups, the Junge Nationalisten,[36] Autonome Nationalisten,[37] as well as other right-wing to far-right hooligan groups like NS-Boys, the Faust des Ostens, Inferno,[36] and other right-wing organisations like Wir sind Kandel,[36] Pegida, Wir für Deutschland,[38] Bündnis Zukunft Hildburghausen,[39] The Republicans,[40] the German Social Union,[41] the Sächsische Volkspartei,[42] the Reichsbürgerbewegung[40] and the Identitarian movement.[36] For their part, the left-wing groups created signs and banners, including ones accusing some of the right-wing parties of being Nazis.[7][13] Several protests marched down Brückenstrasse, the wide street dividing the city centre. Many shops in this area are run by Middle Eastern people, and closed on the day of the demonstrations. The Brückenstrasse is also where the murder took place, and a small shrine erected at the site was left untouched.[7] Police called in reinforcements from Leipzig and Dresden.[30]

When the media began filming the rioters, some of the far-right members shouted "Lügenpresse", a term dating back to the 19th century and frequently used by German far-right groups that holds roughly the same meaning as fake news.[5]

On 30 August, a more peaceful rally organized by Pro Chemnitz took place near the Chemnitzer FC arena, and was attended by up to 900 people. At the same time, the President of Saxony Michael Kretschmer, and other state and local politicians, held a "consultation hour" in the arena, which was attended by 550 citizens.[43]

Reactions to riots and aftermath

A spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Steffen Seibert, denounced the protests, saying that the violence "has no place in [the] country", also saying that there is no place for "vigilantism, for groups that want to spread hatred on the streets, for intolerance and racism".[1][44][45] He also said that they do not tolerate "unlawful assemblies".[8]

The mayor of Chemnitz, Barbara Ludwig, said that the protests were "terrible" and that she was "incensed" at the violence.[30]

The federal government characterised people "hunting down" immigrants, and equally people attacking the hunters in retaliation, as "vigilante justice", which Seibert said did not belong in Germany.[13][8] An attack on a Syrian immigrant in the town of Wismar was connected by the media with the violence in Chemnitz.[46] However, the President of Saxony Michael Kretschmer criticized the reporting on the "manhunt" and stated no such a thing had taken place.[47]

On August 29, the Government of Saxony requested the help of the Federal Police.[48][49]

One of the vice presidents of the German Bundestag, Wolfgang Kubicki (FDP), claimed that Angela Merkel's dictum "Wir schaffen das" was the "root of the violence" in Chemnitz. SPD-chairwoman and SPD group leader in the Bundestag Andrea Nahles called this an "unbelievable statement by an experienced politician".[50]

The Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs supplemented its travel advice for Germany, telling people to "be careful in the vicinity of demonstrations, as riots are possible."[51][52]

On 31 August 2018, the police said that the football match of the 2nd Bundesliga between Dynamo Dresden and Hamburger SV on 1 September 2018 should be cancelled.[53] The DFL later confirmed in a statement that the game was canceled, at the discretion of the State Ministry of Interior.[54]

Anti-racist concert

More than 65,000 people attended an anti-racist rock concert in Chemnitz on 3 September, protesting against the far-right and neo-Nazi activities.[55][56]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Murder in German city leads to far-right demonstrators calling for more protestors on streets". The Independent. 27 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  2. ↑ Perrigo, Billy (28 August 2018). "What To Know About Violent Anti-Migrant Protests In Germany". Time. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  3. ↑ "Migration - Foreign-born population - OECD Data". theOECD. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  4. ↑ Chazan, Guy (19 September 2017). "Election tests German compassion for migrants". Financial Times. Retrieved 28 August 2018. (subscription required)
  5. 1 2 "Far-right vigilantes 'hunting down' migrants in Germany after man's death". Sky News. 27 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Faktencheck zu Chemnitzer Todesfall: Täter handelten nicht in Notwehr". Leipziger Volkszeitung. 28 August 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Knight, Ben (27 August 2018). "Violence in Chemnitz as leftist and far-right protesters clash". Deutsche Welle DW. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Germany migrants: Protesters face off in Chemnitz". BBC. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  9. 1 2 "Iraqi, Syrian Suspected of Killing German in Saxony Arrested". Sputnik. 27 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  10. ↑ "Daniel H. war weder Hooligan noch AfD-Anhänger". Frankfurter Allgemeine. 28 August 2018.
  11. ↑ "Blutiger Streit nach Stadtfest: ein Toter und mehrere Verletzte". Stern.de.
  12. 1 2 "Haftbefehle nach Messerstecherei beantragt". n-tv.de.
  13. 1 2 3 4 "Fresh dueling protests break out in Chemnitz". Deutsche Welle DW. 27 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  14. ↑ "Haftbefehl aus Chemnitz". morgenzeitung.wordpress.com (in German). Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  15. ↑ "Nach Tötung eines 35-Jährigen: Haftbefehl aus Chemnitz taucht im Netz auf". Die Welt. welt.de. 29 August 2018.
  16. 1 2 3 "Yousif A. war mehrfach vorbestraft". Die Welt. 30 August 2018.
  17. 1 2 "Mutmaßlicher Täter Yousif A. sollte abgeschoben werden". Der Spiegel. 30 August 2018.
  18. 1 2 3 "Yousif A. soll BAMF gefälschte Papiere vorgelegt haben". Die Welt. 31 August 2018.
  19. ↑ "Messer bei sich, viele Vorstrafen, Drogen: Das ist der mutmaßliche Täter von Chemnitz". Focus. 30 August 2018.
  20. ↑ Schumacher, Elizabeth (4 September 2018). "Police search for third Chemnitz murder suspect". dw. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  21. ↑ "Demonstranten marschieren nach Messerstecherei durch Chemnitz". Tagesspiegel.
  22. 1 2 "Hunderte demonstrieren in Chemnitzer Innenstadt". Frankfurter Allgemeine.
  23. ↑ "Merkel condemns 'vigilantes' after murder". BBC News. 27 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  24. ↑ "Seehofer bietet Sachsen Verstärkung an". n-tv.de.
  25. ↑ Giffey besucht Chemnitz, Tagesschau.de, 31 August 2018
  26. ↑ "Warum schickt Merkel die Familienministerin?". Bild. 31 August 2018.
  27. ↑ "German Police Try to Subdue Far-Right and Leftist Protesters After Man Is Killed". Time Magazine. AP. 28 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  28. ↑ Eddy, Melissa (28 August 2018). "German Far Right and Counterprotesters Clash in Chemnitz". New York Times. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  29. ↑ "Staatsanwaltschaft Chemnitz: Verdächtige handelten nicht in Notwehr". Freie Presse. 28 August 2018.
  30. 1 2 3 4 5 "German police brace themselves for second day of violence after far-Right protests in Chemnitz". The Telegraph. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  31. ↑ "Far-right, anti-fascists clash in east German town of Chemnitz". www.aljazeera.com.
  32. 1 2 3 4 Chemnitzer Polizei zieht Bilanz: Rund 7500 Demonstranten, 600 Einsatzkräfte, 20 Verletzte, Freie Presse
  33. ↑ "Allemagne : nouveau rassemblement de l'extrême droite après une " chasse " aux étrangers". Le Monde.fr (in French). Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  34. ↑ Pöhlandt, Johannes; Müller, Michael; Peters, Jana; Fischer, Mandy (28 August 2018). "Chemnitz im Ausnahmezustand - Der Tag nach dem tödlichen Messerangriff". Freie Presse (in German). Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  35. ↑ "Far-right 'mobs' go on rampage in Germany after fatal stabbing". South China Morning Post.
  36. 1 2 3 4 "Die unheimliche Mobilisierung der Neonazis in Chemnitz". Die Welt (in German). Retrieved 2018-08-29.
  37. ↑ "War die Polizei in Chemnitz mit der Situation überfordert?". The Berliner Morgenpost. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  38. ↑ "Wie es zu den Jagdszenen in Chemnitz kam". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 2018-08-29.
  39. ↑ "Sachsens rechter Moment". Der Tagesspiegel (in German). Retrieved 2018-08-29.
  40. 1 2 ""Kaotic", Pegida, "Pro Chemnitz": Das sind die rechten Krawallmacher von Chemnitz". Stern (in German). Retrieved 2018-08-29.
  41. ↑ "Chemnitz zeigt Haltung Frau Magwas! Mit Nazikeule ist hier nichts mehr zu machen" (in German). Retrieved 2018-08-29.
  42. ↑ "Liebe Chemnitzer, es ist nicht nur eure Stadt, es ist unser Sachsen und unser Land!" (in German). Retrieved 2018-08-29.
  43. ↑ Polizei: Lage in Chemnitz ruhig und störungsfrei geblieben, mdr.de
  44. ↑ CNN, Atika Shubert, Nadine Schmidt and Judith Vonberg,. "German government condemns right-wing rioters".
  45. ↑ "Hitler salutes and fireworks as weapons: Right-wing violence rocks German city". Washington Post.
  46. ↑ David Crossland (30 August 2018). "Germany: Migrant beaten with iron chain as far‑right violence spreads". The Times.
  47. ↑ ""Es gab keinen Mob, keine Hetzjagd und keine Pogrome"" (in German). Die Welt. September 5, 2018. Retrieved 2018-09-05.
  48. ↑ "Sachsen fordert Hilfe der Bundespolizei an" (in German). Bild. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
  49. ↑ "Sachsen fordert Bundespolizei an" (in German). heute. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
  50. ↑ Wolfgang Kubicki wegen Aussagen zu Chemnitz in der Kritik, Zeit.de, 29 August 2018
  51. ↑ "Reisehinweise für Deutschland". eda.admin.ch. 2018-05-01. Retrieved 2018-08-31.
  52. ↑ "Chemnitz: Schweiz gibt Reisewarnung für Deutschland aus". Spiegel Online. 2018-08-31. Retrieved 2018-08-31.
  53. ↑ "Polizei will Dynamo gegen HSV absagen!". bild.de. 2018-08-31. Retrieved 2018-08-31.
  54. ↑ "Verfügung des Staatsministeriums: Dresden vs. HSV abgesagt" (in German). Kicker. 2018-08-31. Retrieved 2018-08-31.
  55. ↑ https://www.dw.com/en/thousands-attend-chemnitz-concert-against-racism/g-45338429
  56. ↑ https://www.dw.com/en/chemnitz-rocks-against-the-far-right/a-45332340
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