“Liebig 34”: Police remove residents, hundreds protest

Status: 10:29 am | Reading time: 3 minutes

Rand an hour after the evacuation of the occupied house “Liebig 34” in Berlin-Friedrichshain, the police removed 17 residents. On Friday morning, they were taken outside through a broken window on the first floor using a ladder. A woman raised her fist gingerly. According to the police, they will be controlled but not arrested. It is not yet clear whether the burglary investigations will begin.

The officials are in place with a large number. Rescue teams had barricaded the entrance with crowbars and chainsaws. At the same time, officials on a scaffold and with cutting grinders penetrated through the window on the first floor and into the interior.

“Liebig 34” is considered one of the last symbolic projects of the radical left scene in the capital. The police provide administrative assistance with the handover of the house by court order. The bailiff wanted to turn over the empty house to the owner.

About 1,500 officials from eight federal states are on duty

According to authorities, around 1,500 officials from eight federal states should be on duty Friday. These include special technical units such as height rescuers.

The lawyer for the neighborhood association, Moritz Heusinger, criticized that he had not been admitted to his clients to de-escalate. It is “completely incomprehensible” that he is evacuated and no one knows who is in the house.

Hours earlier, hundreds of protesters had gathered behind barriers in front of the house on the corner. Most of the young people, mostly dressed in black, chanted loud chants such as “Houses for those who live in them”, “What a shame” or “All of Berlin hates the police”. At the beginning of the eviction there was a stir at times, as WELT reporter Ibrahim Naber tweeted. Soon after, the situation calmed down again.

A police spokesman said bottles had been thrown at officers several times in the spacious, cordoned off area. Fireworks were also burned. Occasional objects were taken to the street. Two interferers were found.

The photos showed a protester being taken away on Rigaer Strasse. Three suspected arsonists were also arrested. According to the “Berliner Morgenpost”, grill lighters and fire accelerators were seized from them.

Burning garbage bins and car tires

According to police, car tires, garbage containers and a terminal building at the Tiergarten S-Bahn station burned at various locations in the city overnight. The use of water cannons to support firefighters in extinguishing small fires has been approved, police tweeted.

At “Liebig 34” a ten-year commercial lease for the neighborhood association, which calls itself “anarcha-queer-feminist”, expired two years ago. In a long court battle, the owner removed the residents of the house.

The night before the eviction, a few hundred protesters had gathered nearby. Most of the young people were standing in front of a small concert stage on Rigaer Strasse in Berlin-Friedrichshain on Thursday evening. A hip-hop band performed and the atmosphere was calm.

The demonstration ended around 10:00 pm, a police spokesman said. About 400 people participated. There were no incidents. Even a smaller gathering near the Frankfurter Tor ended without incident.

Sealed junction – occupied ceilings

The intersection in front of the house was completely cordoned off at night. The police had also occupied the surrounding rooftops. In the brightly painted house “Liebig 34” some windows were illuminated. Music and a woman’s speeches echoed through the intersection of the speakers. But behind the bars of the next cordon there were only a few people listening. It could not be determined if there were actually residents in the controversial home. By Thursday afternoon, around ten young women with luggage had left the “anarcha-queer-feminist Liebig 34 house project.”

A rally was announced in Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg on Friday evening at 9pm.