Police issued YPG ban overthrown in court

Despite the ban by the Interior Ministry and some states, local courts have been issuing rulings that the YPG flag does not constitute a crime. Most recently, the local court in Gelsenkirchen acquitted German activist Monika Gärtner-Engel.

A demonstration was held in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine Westphalia (NRW) on March 20, 2018 to protest the Turkish state and their allied gangs invading Afrin. Kurds and Germans attended the protest where German activist Monika Gärtner-Engel waved a YPG flag to support the resistance of the people of Afrin.

The police had attacked the march, claiming that the YPG flag constituted a crime and confiscated the flag. Later, Essen Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation against Gärtner-Engel, claiming that waving a YPG flag was a crime and issued a €200 fine to Gärtner-Engel.

But in a hearing held yesterday, the local court in Gelsenkirchen stated that Gärtner-Engel hasn’t committed a crime by waving a YPG flag and acquitted the activist. The court said the protest was not tied to the PKK as the prosecutor claimed, and there is no ban against the YPG in Germany.

“THE COURT’S DECISION IS IMPORTANT FOR DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS”

Monika Gärtner-Engel issued a statement after the hearing in Gelsenkirchen and said the verdict is important for democratic rights. After the acquittal verdict came out, Gärtner-Engel pressed charges against the Gelsenkirchen police for attacking a demonstration that had a permit.

Several local courts had ruled before that carrying a YPG flag doesn’t contstitute a crime. In March, the Aachen Court of Peace had ruled against the police in the case against a Kurdish man who was being investigated for posting a YPG flag on a Facebook page.

Similarly, local courts in Frankfurt and Berlin had ruled that PYD, YPG and YPJ flags can be carried despite being considered part of the ban since March 2, 2017.

While several local courts issued similar rulings, the Bavarian police’s ongoing intolerance against the YPG stands out. Bavarian police use YPG flags as an excuse to raid activists’ homes and courts in the state are issuing sentences for Kurdish and German activists for solidarity with the YPG/YPJ.

BANNED BY MARCH 2 NOTICE

The German Interior Ministry had sent a notice to all states on March 2, 2017 demanding the states ban flags and banners of several Kurdish organizations and political parties including the PYD, YPG and YPJ. The Ministry had said the notice was an “update” to the 1993 ban against the PKK.