(Berlin) Russian and Soviet flags will be banned near the Soviet Memorial in Tiergarten in central Berlin on Tuesday, the German capital’s Higher Administrative Court confirmed on Monday.
The higher court thus overturned an administrative court decision overturning a ban on these flags on the occasion of the commemoration of the German surrender on May 8 and 9.
The Russian and Soviet flags are thus prohibited around the Memorial, in the Tiergarten park, as well as the ribbons of Saint-Georges, formed of three black bands and regularly displayed in Russia to commemorate the victory over Nazi Germany in 1945.
Ukrainian flags, initially banned by the police, will be allowed, decided the administrative court of Berlin, a decision which was not the subject of an appeal.
“The police prognosis that [Russian] symbols are likely to convey violence in light of the ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine, proves to be well-founded,” the higher court justified in its decision.
“In the current context, they could in any case be understood as a manifestation of sympathy for the conduct of the war,” adds the court, whose decision was welcomed by the Berlin police, who mobilized their members en masse to avoid Tuesday any overflow.
A gathering of Russian bikers from the “Night Wolves” club, Kremlin faithful who left Moscow at the end of April, is particularly expected in the German capital.
Several participants in the rally waved Russian and Soviet flags as they left Moscow on April 29. Some have stuck on their motorcycles the letter “Z”, symbol of the “Russian special military operation” in Ukraine launched in February 2022.
