Berlin: court allowed Ukrainian flags, Russian flags are banned

The Berlin authorities decided to ban the demonstration of the flags of Ukraine and Russia near the Soviet memorials on May 8 and 9, but the Berlin Administrative Court “corrected” it.

How informs Berliner Morgenpost, it is also forbidden these days to sing war songs near the memorials. The authorities state:

“It is forbidden to chant slogans that, due to the current situation, can be perceived as approval, glorification or glorification of the war in Ukraine.”

The local police explained that the war on the territory of Ukraine should not go beyond the “democratic discourse in Berlin.”

Berlin broadcaster rbb24 informedthat after a judicial appeal against the decision of the authorities, the Berlin Administrative Court lifted the ban on displaying Ukrainian flags on Soviet memorials in the Treptow, Tiergarten and Schoenholzer Heide regions. The court’s decision concerns only Ukrainian flags and military music – Russian ones remain banned.

The decision of the court, which is at the disposal of the publication, says: the decision of the Berlin police to ban the flags of Russia and Ukraine is “obviously illegal”, and they did not provide “any evidence that public safety is at risk.” Lawyer Patrick Heinemann says:

“The ban on Ukrainian flags is – in the words of the court – obviously illegal. Anyone who exercises his fundamental right to publicly declare support for the Ukrainian people and their historical victims in the victory over National Socialism does not pose a threat to public safety.”

However, the Berlin police can appeal the decision of the Administrative Court to the Higher Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg. A similar ban on flags already existed last year. Then he caused a lot of criticism from the Ukrainian side, in particular, from the then Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Andriy Melnyk. How it all happened a year ago, on May 8, 2022:

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