Arrests as police monitor protests in Berlin

Berlin [Germany], March 23: Authorities in the German capital on Saturday deployed hundreds of police officers to accompany a large right-wing extremist demonstration and counter-protests.
First arrests were made at the start of the neo-Nazi march in Berlin's eastern Friedrichshain district because some participants ignored the ban on wearing masks, a police spokesman said. Several hundred people protested loudly against the neo-Nazi demonstration, with around 1,500 officers positioned to keep the camps apart without intervening unless it became essential.
"We never protect the content of the assembly, but only the reason for the assembly itself, the freedom of assembly," police spokesman Florian Nath emphasized in a video posted on X. At the same time, he called on the participants to remain peaceful. However, a DPA reporter at the scene witnessed the outbreak of scuffles.
According to officials, around 850 people - more than five times more than attended a similar march a month ago - took part in the right-wing extremist event under the slogan "For law and order.
Against left-wing extremism and politically motivated violence." The march organizers spoke of 1,200 participants. This is already the third demonstration by right-wing extremists since December 2024 under the same slogan. Because numerous demonstrators travelled by train, federal police officers were also deployed.
Also in Friedrichshain, counter-demonstrators tried to stop the neo-Nazi demonstration with a sit-in blockade. According to the police, 10 counter-protests and actions were announced, with participants carrying anti-fascist placards.
Source: Qatar Tribune