Minute of silence for Rouven L. – Mannheim mourns police officer

Steinmeier at the crime scene
Minute of silence for Rouven L. – Mannheim mourns police officer

At 11:34 a.m. everything on Mannheim's market square came to a standstill. Last Friday, a 25-year-old Afghan stabbed police officer Rouven L., who later died. A week later, Federal President Steinmeier and many of L.'s colleagues sent a sign of mourning.

Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier remembered the police officer Rouven L., who was killed a week ago, on Mannheim's market square. Steinmeier, Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann of the Greens and State Interior Minister Thomas Strobl of the CDU paused in silent mourning at 11:34 a.m. The parents of the killed police officer and other relatives also took part in the commemoration.

The Baden-Württemberg police had called for a minute's silence. At this time last Friday, a 25-year-old Afghan man had injured five members of the anti-Islam movement Pax Europa and the 29-year-old officer with a knife on the market square. L. died of his injuries on Sunday.

Steinmeier laid a bouquet of flowers at the crime scene. The SPD politician then spoke of a “bloody act of terror”. The perpetrator had apparently acted from a political, presumably Islamist background, said Steinmeier. In recent weeks, we have experienced further “disgusting acts of politically motivated violence” with attacks on mayors, ministers, MPs and volunteers, said Steinmeier. “We, the democrats of this country, must never and will never get used to violence in political debates.” The violence must stop.

Hundreds of people gathered on the square in the city of 300,000 inhabitants in the north of Baden-Württemberg to remember the man. A police spokeswoman spoke of 1,500 to 2,000 participants. After the minute's silence, applause broke out on the market square. At the same time, police officers across the country remained in silent mourning.

In Mannheim, dozens of police officers paid their respects to their colleague. Around 50 officers from the Mannheim police headquarters – according to a spokeswoman, mainly patrol officers – lined up in front of the sea of ​​flowers on the market square and remembered their deceased colleague with their hands folded.

AfD wants to push through demo

Many police officers wore blue ribbons on their uniforms. The German Police Union called on Thursday for blue ribbons to be worn “as a sign of mourning, as a sign of solidarity and as a visible sign against violence.”

In Berlin, dozens of police officers also came together for a silent march of the “blue light family”. The event was jointly called for by the German Police Union (DPolG) and the Police Union (GdP).

Several demonstrations and rallies are planned in Mannheim in the afternoon. At 4:30 p.m. there will be a rally under the motto “Mannheim stands together – for democracy and diversity” by the German Trade Union Confederation (Mannheim district association) and representatives of democratic parties and religious communities.

At 6 p.m., the AfD also plans to demonstrate against Islamism, among other things, on the market square. At the same time, a counter-demonstration by Antifa is planned. At 5.30 p.m., a demonstration by the alliance “Mannheim against the Right” against the AfD rally is also planned.

However, it is still unclear whether the AfD will actually be allowed to demonstrate on the market square. On Thursday, the Karlsruhe Administrative Court granted an urgent application by the AfD against a general order by the city, according to which events such as demonstrations on the market square are currently prohibited. On Tuesday, the city provisionally declared the market square a memorial site for the dead police officer and banned rallies. It filed an appeal against the administrative court's decision. The city plans to use the nearby Paradeplatz for the demonstration.