BERLIN
German police on Friday used violence against peaceful pro-Palestine protesters in Berlin, an activist said.
"This is Germany, the heart of Europe," Yasemin Acar, who was beaten up by police, told Anadolu.
"...They beat us violently in front of parliament, arrested us, and we were hospitalized," she said.
Acar was released after identification and was treated at the hospital due to an injury to her arm.
It is not clear if her arm will be put in a cast, but she said she is trying to get better.
Police in Berlin dismantled the Support for Gaza camp next to the Chancellery and opposite the Bundestag. Many people were detained in the violent confrontation.
Talking about the incident, she said she reached the sit-in after someone told her on the phone that the protesters were being asked to leave.
“As soon as I arrived there, the police already saw (me). We started raising slogans. When I said: 'Freedom for Palestine,' the police pointed their finger at me.
"Then 10-15 policemen came, all men by the way. They pulled my head and one of them hit my nose.
"I told them I couldn't breathe. But they didn't listen and told me to 'shut up.'
"So human rights, and being a woman has no value anymore."
In detention, she said, they were taken to an office-like area set up nearby.
“They said: 'We will put you in prison.' I protested because I knew my rights. Because I raised my voice, they tried to silence me after that," she said, adding that she was kept there for a few minutes.
Talking about the rise in violence in Germany, she said: “Of course, we took to the streets for Palestine, but we are also taking to the streets against the oppression in Germany right now, because the oppression is so great."
“I wonder if the next time we organize something like a camp again, will they take out their guns and try to shoot us? We live in fear of that,” she said, adding that she will file a criminal complaint against the police.
*Writing by Zeynep Cetin in Istanbul
