All of Germany is talking about the chaotic scenes from the capital at the turn of the year. But despite attacks with weapons and pyrotechnics on emergency services from ambush, nobody has to stay in prison.
The 103 suspects arrested after the New Year’s Eve riots in Berlin are all free again. There are no grounds for detention, said a spokesman for the Berlin police.
The suspects are mainly being investigated for arson offenses, violations of the explosives law, breach of the peace and physical assault on law enforcement officials.
In the capital there had been bad scenes in some parts of the city. The Berlin fire brigade spokesman Thomas Kirstein reported that 14 fire engines of the fire brigade were literally lured into ambushes.
Emergency calls were mostly received because of burning cars or garbage cans. When the fire brigade arrived to extinguish the fire, the emergency services were shot at with rockets and other fireworks. According to a report by the Berlin fire brigade, iron bars and slats were also used in some of the attacks. In the capital alone, there were 33 injured emergency services.
More than 50 percent of all attacked firefighters were attacked in Neukölln. But also in the Lichtenrade district, dozens of strangers lured the rescuers into an ambush, colleagues rushing to help were attacked with tear gas, and a firefighter was bitten on the hand.
Eyewitnesses report groups of young men as perpetrators. According to the police, 98 men and five women were arrested in Berlin. Age ranges between about 15 and 35 years are mentioned. Some were masked. From the capital it is said that it is assumed that many of them have an Arab migration background.
The fire brigade said that even experienced emergency services were shocked this time by the aggressiveness and willingness to use violence by groups, some of whom were masked. The events have sparked debate over whether firecrackers should be banned on New Year’s Eve.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, however, rejects a general ban in Germany. “The existing law already offers extensive possibilities to ban or limit the burning of pyrotechnic objects,” said a ministry spokeswoman. For example, there is already a general ban on firecrackers in the area of churches or retirement homes. In addition, the countries could set up ban zones.