Press Release: Lawyers Criticise Higher Administrative Court’s total ban

Press Release June 1st 2007

* Star March: Lawyers criticise the complete ban by the Higher Administrative Court (OVG)
* Demonstration Ban due to "foreign political interests"
* Coalition: "International Demonstration is not a single-file march!"

With court ruling - 3 M 53/07 on 31/05/07 the OVG(Higher Administrative Court) of Greifswald confirmed a general ban of the Star March.
The court has "no objection to a complete ban".
No demonstration can take place, neither in the ’Banned Area I’ (fence + 200 metres security zone) nor in the ’Banned Area II’ (altogether over 40km2).

Instead the protest is to be shifted to Kroepelin and Bad Doberan. So on Bundesstrasse 105 (national highway) protestors may demonstrate back and forth.

However, "it is not possible to carry out the demonstration at a distance of six kilometres that might have any areal or content relevance to that which we oppose", the Star march coalition criticised.

The simple fear that the German federal government’s external relations to ’foreign states’ could be strained by assemblies was considered sufficient for the court. Protest rallies in proximity to the state leaders could be perceived to be an "act of unfriendliness".

In the process both the court and police dispensed with evidence of actual danger.
It was in ’foreign political interests that risks to all delegates should be averted already in the run-up to the event’.

The ’Security Concept’ has been demanded by foreign security agencies that are not bound by the federal republic’s constitution. "The court is not "bothered by this", criticised lawyer Ulrike Donart. "This is a dark day for basic rights of freedom of assembly".

"I am apalled that the Higher Administrative Court has such little respect for such basic protected rights, particularly with concern to assembly. With this result the court has subordinated itself to the partially cheeky ’order’ and political security argument of the police.From this perspective the basic right of assembly is threatened to fade into insignificance", added lawyer Carsten Gericke. "Assembly Bans lead to infrations and police violence".

"We will not reduce our international mobilisation against the politic of the G8 to a single file march", the Star March (Sternmarsch) coalition stated afterwards.Since October 2006 there have been calls to demonstrate internationally.

The coalition has lodged a complaint with the federal Constitutional Court.

* Star March Coalition Contacts:Hanne Jobst, Matthias Monroy 0160/ 953 14023

* Further Information: Joint Press Conference of the G8-Protest Participant Groups: June 1st,9am, Press tent Stadthafen, Rostock.

Press Contacts:
Media G8way International Press Group: g8-press-int@nadir.org, +49/ 160/ 924 379 02

Gipfelsoli Infogroup: presse@gipfelsoli.org, +49 (0)160/ 953 14 023

Campinski: g8-presse@nadir.org, +49 (0)179/ 376 4812, press.dissentnetwork.org

Republikanischer Anwältinnen- und Anwälteverein: presse@rav.de +49 (0)1577/ 470 4760 und +49 (0)163/ 619 5151

— Media G8way does not claim responsibility for the content of the statements it distributes on behalf of the groups or individuals who use its service. Media G8way is an international press service for individuals, groups, networks and (dis)organizations who understand themselves to be part of an independent radical left movement against the G8.