Berlin: Who ordered the tearing of hostage poster?- B.Z. Berlin

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After an incident in Friedrichshain, in which three Berlin patrol police officers removed posters from Hamas from a lit barrier, it is now known who ordered the demolition. According to information from the B.Z. It was three officers of Section 51, who were asked by their supervisor, the responsible "W1". The police had previously found out of posters at the intersection of Sunday/corner of Lenbachstrasse and asked the state security for an assessment. An experienced civil servant of the state security finally decided that the posters should be removed, obviously based on the assessment as property damage. The patrol police officers followed the instruction. According to a report by www.bz-berlin.de, the posters also have no imprint, which causes the suspicion of violation of the press law. The incident triggered a wave of horror and police President Barbara Slovik expressed her regret about the violation of feelings of the Israeli/Jewish community and the relatives of the hostages.

The removal of the posters raises questions about the appropriate response from the police to politically motivated crime. In particular, the decision of the state protection of removing the posters due to the suspicion of property damage is considered controversial by some. The debate about whether such posters should be regarded as political expression of opinion or have to be treated as illegal activities will continue. There is concern that such controversy could undermine the trust of the community in the police. It remains to be seen how the Berlin police will deal with similar situations in the future.