Date: Thursday, 09 November 2023
The Gießen public prosecutor's office is investigating a 26-year-old after the riots surrounding the Eritrea Festival on July 8th. Among other things, he is said to have placed a "Molotov cocktail" under a police vehicle.
The Gießen public prosecutor's office has issued an arrest warrant for a 26-year-old man who is said to have been involved in the riots on the sidelines of the festival. He was arrested in Stuttgart on another matter and is in custody there. The arrest warrant from the Gießen district court is noted as subsequent arrest. In Giessen, the Eritrean citizen has to answer on strong suspicion of serious breach of the peace, resistance to law enforcement officers and attempted arson. As senior public prosecutor Thomas Hauburger reports, the accused falls into the spectrum of opponents of the Eritrean regime. However, investigators have heard that some participants in the protests were present at both the riots in Giessen and Stuttgart.
Specifically, the 26-year-old is accused of attacking police officers in the Konrad-Adenauer-Brücke intersection as part of a group of at least a hundred people. The accused is said to have thrown a stone at police officers and placed a Molotov cocktail under an emergency vehicle. An officer was able to discover and remove the already ignited Molotov cocktail in good time.
On July 8th there were protests by suspected opponents of the Eritrean regime around the Eritrea Festival in Giessen. Hundreds of men attacked police officers. Over 1,000 officers from several federal states were deployed to protect the festival in the Hessenhallen organized by the “Central Council of Eritreans” association.
A similar event was attacked by the Eritrean consulate last year. On July 8, police arrested and temporarily detained 131 people. The background to the clashes is the conflict between opponents of the regime who consider events like the Eritrea Festival to be propaganda events for a dictatorship. The organizer of the event on July 8th, however, emphasized the cultural character. After the riots, the Giessen police set up a working group that works with the LKA, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and other police authorities. A large part of the investigative work involves, among other things, reviewing the large number of video recordings. Gath: “This comprehensive investigative work in particular has not yet been completed.”
On July 8th there were protests by suspected opponents of the Eritrean regime around the Eritrea Festival in Giessen. Hundreds of men attacked police officers. Over 1,000 officers from several federal states were deployed to protect the festival in the Hessenhallen organized by the “Central Council of Eritreans” association.
A similar event was attacked by the Eritrean consulate last year. On July 8, police arrested and temporarily detained 131 people. The background to the clashes is the conflict between opponents of the regime who consider events like the Eritrea Festival to be propaganda events for a dictatorship. The organizer of the event on July 8th, however, emphasized the cultural character.
