NEWS FROM BERLIN
Berlin must pay back to climate activists
The Higher Administrative Court of Berlin has confirmed that the Berlin police unlawfully charged climate activists. The court rejected an appeal by the state of Berlin against a previous judgement from September 2023, which concerned a specific case involving a climate activist and this decision is final. According to the Berlin Senate’s internal administration, the Berlin police had sent more than a thousand charge notices, each of them of 241 euros to climate activists for obstructing traffic by gluing themselves to the road. Many of these 1,300 notices could now be unlawful. That would comprise an amount of 313,300 euros. Source: welt
BVG: every 15th trip cancelled
Frequent technical problems, an outdated fleet of vehicles, and a lack of clarity over when any of these issues will be resolved: the boss of Berliner Verkhrsbetriebe (BVG) has admitted that a number of serious problems have led to the reliability of the Berlin U-Bahn network to decrease rapidly this year. ‘None of us are happy about it,’ CEO Henrik Falk told the RBB evening show. ‘New vehicles will arrive next year. I can’t say exactly when,’ he added. According to current figures, the reliability of the U-Bahn network dropped to 93 percent in August, meaning that almost every 15th trip was cancelled. Source: the berliner
Watergate to close at the end of the year
The Berlin club Watergate on Oberbaumbrücke has been around for 22 years. But it’s coming to an end at the end of 2024. The club operators will not be renewing their lease for economic reasons, citing rising energy and rental costs, among other things: ‘From an economic point of view and an honest assessment of the current situation for clubs in Berlin, this is the only sensible and responsible decision for us.’ The club scene is fighting for survival, the statement continued. After Corona, the business had not regained the speed of previous years. Many clubs in Berlin have had to close in recent years. Source: rbb
NEWS FROM GERMANY
Germany extends stricter land border controls
Germany has announced it will extend tight controls on the country’s land borders for another six months. From September 16, 2024, German police will impose more regular border checks on cars, buses and trains between the federal republic, Belgium, Denmark, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Other neighboring countries are already the subject of regular checks: Austria (since 2015) and Poland, Czechia and Switzerland (since 2023). German Interior Minister, Nancy Faeser (SPD), has said that the country will continue imposing the border checks to “protect against the acute dangers posed by Islamist terrorism and serious crime”. Since Germany is in the Schengen Area, checks must be temporary. Source: i am expat
Precarious pride: a summer of right-wing violence at queer demonstrations
During the summer there were numerous Pride events, from parties and festivals to demonstrations, however, they weren’t all a “bag of rainbows”. In Bautzen, Saxony, the unthinkable happened: at the city’s second-ever CSD on August 10th, queers were greeted by 700 neo-Nazis from all over Germany holding a ‘counter-demo’. On August 17, neo-Nazis held another counter-demo during the Leipzig CSD. Meanwhile, during both the Dyke March Berlin on July 26 and the Internationalist Queer Pride on July 27, there are many images of police infiltrating the demos and grabbing, hitting and manhandling queers protesting the genocide in Gaza. Source: the berliner
Brandenburg Ministry of the Interior bans Islamic centre in Fürstenwalde
Brandenburg’s Interior Minister, Michael Stübgen (CDU), has shut down the Islamic Centre Fürstenwalde al-Salam (IZF). Police carried out searches at the centre’s premises earlier this month. ‘The association is closely linked to the Muslim Brotherhood and the terrorist organisation Hamas,’ said Stübgen, explaining the move. ‘Our Office for the Protection of the Constitution has been monitoring this organisation for several years,’ he added. The mosque, a part of the center, is a meeting point for many Muslims to practise their faith, and evidently not all those who went to this mosque followed extremist endeavours. Source: rbb
