[Salon] Stigmatized, criminalized, attacked

https://www.german-foreign-policy.com/news/detail/9612

Stigmatized, criminalized, attacked

Amnesty International accuses Germany and 20 other states of Europe of increasing repression against peaceful protests, the stigmatization of dissenting opinions and the incitlement of racist resentment against Arabs.

09 July 2024

Excessive police violence

The accusations made by Amnesty International specifically against Germany relate in particular to three areas. The first of these is about excessive police violence against demonstrators. As an example, Amnesty is conducting a demonstration on the 1st. May 2021 in Frankfurt am Main, where the police used, for example, water cannons, pepper spray and batons. Numerous demonstrators were injured; several of them suffered bone fractures, two even a skull base fracture. According to Amnesty, paramedics reported that the police had prevented them from treating the seriously injured for "a few hours." 1] The Amnesty report also documents cases of excessive police violence against children and cases that are to be classified as mistreatment or torture, for example those in which demonstrators who were defenseless on the ground were beaten and kicked. It also happens, explains Amnesty, that demonstration observers are prevented by the police from documenting the police action against demonstrators: they would ultimately be asked to leave the place of the protests.

"Silence"

Amnesty International also makes accusations about the action of German authorities against civil disobedience. This refers not only, but also explicitly to the repression against climate activists. According to Amnesty, "a worrying pattern" has been identified: people who protested peacefully were "deterred, accused and brought to justice" - even if their actions did not endanger "public interest" or cause serious damage. Four states in Europe, including Germany, resorted to laws against organized crime and terrorist organizations to punish civil disobedience; prison sentences would also be imposed on people who protested peacefully. The official procedure raises concerns that the keyword "national security" will be used as a weapon "to silence differing opinions". In this context, Amnesty states that in Germany, those who protest against grievances are increasingly defamed as an "extremist", as a "terrorist", as a "criminal" or as a "foreign agent" - a convenient means that high-ranking politicians also used today to discredit unpopular views.

Preventive detention

Amnesty particularly mentions the so-called preventive custody, which allows people to be imprisoned on the mere suspicion that they could participate in unpleasant protests; in Bavaria, for example, this is possible for up to 30 days. Amnesty states that this contradicts common international human rights standards; the federal states concerned have been asked "several times" to adapt their laws to these standards, but - similar to Turkey - have not been successful.

"Institutionalized racism"

The accusations made by Amnesty International regarding repression against Palestinians and protests against the Gaza war are serious. They already concern the time before the Hamas massacre of the 7th. October 2023. According to this, the preventive bans on demonstrations around the Nakba Day in the spring of 2022 and in the spring of 2023 were based on "stigmatizing and discriminatory stereotypes" regarding the expected participants, who had been described as "from the Arab diaspora", "with a Palestinian background" or as "circles influenced by Muslims" and who were attributed the property of having "a tendency to acts of violence". This shows "institutionalized racism against an entire demographic group." After the 7th October, on the other hand, public events that should have shown solidarity with the Palestinians were often completely banned, otherwise only allowed with disproportionate conditions, states Amnesty; protest camps at universities were dissolved by force on a questionable legal basis. The approach, the human rights organization judges, "anchors racist prejudices and stereotypes" and reveals "institutionalized racism aimed at Arabs and Muslims."

Authoritarian turn

The Amnesty report appears at a time when the criticism of an authoritarian turnaround in Germany is getting louder. In essence since the beginning of the Ukraine war, in a sharp form since the Hamas massacre of the 7th. October, divergent opinions, especially on foreign policy issues, are increasingly excluded. Recently, it has led to a protest that considerations were made in the Federal Ministry of Education to punish university teachers who criticize the repression against Palestine solidarity with the withdrawal of their research funds (german-foreign-policy.com reported [2]). A current draft law, which Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser has submitted, contains provisions according to which people living in Germany without a German passport can be expelled if they approve of alleged or actual acts of terrorism; to fulfill the fact, which is of course vaguely defined - there were times when fighters of the ANC were considered "terrorists" - it is therefore already sufficient to like an incriminated post on social media. 3]

[1] Quotes here and in the following: Under protected and over restricted. The state of the right to protest in 21 European countries. Amnesty International. 09.07.2024.

[2] S. about science in the world war format.

[3] Chris Köver: Expulsion already after a like. netzpolitik.org 26.06.2024.