Berlin lifts ban on Ukrainian symbols for V-E Day, Russian flags still prohibited
People near the Brandenburg Gate during the Freedom Parade on Ukraine's Independence Day in Berlin (Photo:REUTERS/Lisi Niesner)
The Berlin Administrative Court has overturned a police decision to ban the display of Ukrainian flags near Soviet memorials on Victory in Europe Day (V-E Day), Vitsche, an association of Ukrainian activists in Germany, reported on Twitter on May 5.
According to the group, they won a court hearing on the matter, lifting the ban on Ukrainian flags and songs. At the same time, the ban on displaying Russian flags remains in place, according to German public broadcaster rbb.
The court called the Berlin police's decision to outlaw Ukrainian flags "clearly illegal" because they did not provide "any evidence to suggest a threat to public safety.”
"Anyone who exercises their fundamental right to publicly express support for the Ukrainian people and their historical victims in the defeat of National Socialism does not pose a threat to public safety," said Vitsche's lawyer, Patrick Heinemann.
The Berlin police said on Twitter that there are no plans to appeal the court's decision.
Earlier, Berlin law enforcement banned the display of Russian and Ukrainian flags near Soviet memorials on May 8 and 9, V-E Day, in the city. They also prohibited "slogans that, due to the current situation, may be taken as approval, glorification or heroification of the war in Ukraine."
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