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German court partially lifts protest ban at G8 meet venue
REUTERS
BERLIN • A German court yesterday partially overruled a ban on demonstrations within a radius of five kilometres of the Baltic Sea resort where the G8 summit will be held next month.
The court in Schwerin in northeastern Germany said protests should be allowed on the other side of a security fence encircling the hotel in Heiligendamm where leaders of the Group of Eight most industrialised nations will gather.
The German government, which fears that Heiligendamm will be besieged by up to 100,000 protesters, had sought to keep protesters out of sight of the 12-km-long fence from June 5, the eve of the three-day summit.
Web posted at: 5/26/2007 8:15:42
The Schwerin court ruled that protesters could only be kept 200metres away from the fence, which is topped with razor-wire.
It is expected that the authorities, who have also placed a security net in the sea off Heiligendamm, will appeal the ruling.
The government has in recent days has been accused of going overboard with security measures for the June 6 to 8 summit.
Wolfgang Thierse, one of the deputy speakers of the lower house of parliament, said the authorities were creating a climate of "hysteria" and that the fence at Heiligendamm brought to mind the Berlin Wall.
Deutsche Post yesterday confirmed that postal workers had helped the police search the mailboxes of would-be anti-globalisation protesters in the northern port city of Hamburg. The police said they had obtained a court order authorising the searches.
[http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=World_News&subsection=Rest+of+the+World&month=May2007&file=World_News2007052681542.xml]