ELSC Files Criminal Complaint Against Police Officer BE-24111 Who Beat Up Protestors at Nakba Day Demo in Berlin 

Berlin, Germany – 17th July 2025, the European Legal Support Center (ELSC) has filed a criminal complaint to the public prosecutor, for assault in office, dangerous physical assault, false accusation and all other applicable offences against a police officer who has been filmed repeatedly punching protesters in the head at Berlin’s Nakba day demonstration on 15th May 2025.

This comes after Forensis, an investigative research organisation, published an investigation and video evidence of the event, which contradicts the account of events around an injured Police officer given by the Berlin Police, German media and politicians. According to the investigation: 

“Following the end of the protest, the Berlin Police claimed that an officer, identified as BE-24111, had been ‘seriously injured’ at the hands of the demonstrators. According to a police spokesperson and a subsequent press release, the officer had been:  
– Dragged into the crowd of protesters 
– Intentionally attacked 
– Pushed to the ground, and 
– Trampled on by protesters” 

Following these claims by the Berlin Police various public voices in Germany gave statements which amount to a massive incitement and disinformation campaign against Palestine solidarity protestors. For example: Marking a new escalation in rhetoric, the Mayor of Neukölln, Martin Hikel, had claimed that protestors had “attempted to murder the Police man”.  

However, video evidence suggests the Police officer voluntarily and purposefully entered the crowd and injured himself while repeatedly and furiously punching protestors in their faces. 

Human Rights observers have long criticised the German Police violence against protestors in solidarity with Palestine, including latest letter from the EU commissioner for Human Rights. The ELSC’s newly launched database on anti-Palestinian repression documents 766 incidents of anti-Palestinian repression – Police/Security personnel are responsible for 340 incidents making them the main actor of anti-Palestinian repression in Germany. Our database proves that this is not an isolated case rather, a systematic attack to silence and criminalise the Palestinian solidarity movement in Germany. The database is accessible at index-of-repression.org

Victims of Police violence who dare to speak up or appear publicly are routinely intimidated and attacked in retaliation by the Police in Germany. On 16th July the Berlin police has raided five homes of persons who were allegedly present at the scene at the Nakba demo. Two of them are accused of resisting law enforcement officers and attempted prisoner liberation, while the other three were alleged to be present at the scene and could be witnesses. None of them are officially suspected of having directly physically assaulted the police officer. The alleged witnesses were not contacted by any investigators before the raids to testify. 

With our criminal complaint we aim to pursue accountability and pressure the public prosecutor to launch a thorough investigation against the Police officer and eventually to put him on trial. We have provided extensive evidence but are prepared to appeal if the public prosecutor decides to drop the case. 

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