German activists have published photos of Berlin police officers online seeking additional information on the officers. Authorities launched a probe while the police union condemned them as “extremists” trying to “stir up hatred.”
In response to Hamburg police publishing more than 100 photos of suspects wanted in connection with the violence and looting during the G20 summit, a popular web portal for militant leftists posted photographs of 54 Berlin police officers who are believed to have taken part in evicting squatters from a building occupied by far-left activists earlier this year.
The activists, believed to be affiliated with the international “anti-fascist” movement, said they “look forward to getting tips about where [the police officers] live. In addition to participating in the eviction, they can be held responsible for the violence of the three weeks of siege.”
Berlin police say they have launched an investigation into the incident. After being made aware of the photographs and the provocative message, the German Police Union (GdP) described the threats as “abominable, defamatory and the result of a fundamental attitude that glorifies and exerts violence.”
The GdP denounced the “left-wing extremist terrorists,” accusing them of trying to “stir up hatred.” The police union also called on German authorities to retaliate “quickly and sustainably.”
Earlier this month, German police conducted coordinated raids across the country as part of investigations into violent clashes between anti-capitalist protesters and officers in Hamburg at the G20 summit in July. The raids, which targeted the militant “Black Bloc” group, involved some 20 properties in seven states, including Hamburg, Berlin, North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Wuerttemberg.
Riots and violence broke out during the Group of 20 summit in Hamburg. However, German law enforcement were also accused of misconduct. Dozens of investigations were launched in the months following the summit after accusations of excessive use of force and assault emerged.
Speaking to German media after three nights of violent clashes between left-wing radicals and police during the July summit, Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said all “alleged political motives for this orgy of violence are full of deceit and should just serve as a disguise for the real motive of the offenders that [came] from all parts of Europe: violence for its own sake.”