German police brutality targets pro-Palestine movement: Injured protester
Kitty O’Brien, a 25-year-old Irish pro-Palestine protester recently assaulted by German police in Berlin, fears their injuries may be life-altering.
On August 28, demonstrators joined a rally in what they thought was “really a normal Thursday for people protesting in Berlin”, said O’Brien, who uses they/them pronouns.
But as footage of the incident shows, the demonstration got heated.
During a shouting match in which O’Brien participated, an officer punched them several times. When they were removed from the crowd, blood pouring from their nose, the same officer broke their arm, O’Brien said. “I just heard a loud crunching and kind of knew that something wasn’t right.”
Kitty O’Brien was punched in the face by German police during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Berlin in August
Gaza war lawsuit filed in Germany against German Israeli soldier
Human rights lawyers have filed a lawsuit in Germany against a German Israeli soldier over suspected war crimes in Gaza.
Acting with several Palestinian organisations, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) alleged the soldier may have been involved in the killing of unarmed Palestinians.
The ECCHR said the soldier, originally from Munich, is believed to have been a sniper in the Israeli army’s “Ghost Unit”.
Legal action has already been brought against members of this unit in countries including France and South Africa, it added.
“If persons originating from Germany are suspected of involvement in war crimes, there is a clear mandate for the judiciary to act,” said Alexander Schwarz, co-director of ECCHR’s international crimes programme.
“The targeted killing of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip is a blatant violation of international criminal law. Germany is obliged under international law to independently investigate and prosecute such acts.”
