After the occupation of the Audimax at Leipzig University by pro-Palestinian activists, the police are preparing to evacuate the building. Leipzig University has decided to evacuate and has informed the police, the university announced on Tuesday evening. The police operation is currently underway. "We do not tolerate the violent disruption of teaching activities and the seizure of university premises," the statement read. The decision to evacuate was unavoidable, as there was imminent danger to the safety of all students and lecturers.
According to the university, around 50 to 60 people occupied the Audimax and the inner courtyard on Leipzig University's inner city campus on Tuesday afternoon. They unfurled banners reading "University occupation against genocide", among other things. The largely masked occupiers declared that they were fighting for Palestine on campus, barricaded the Audimax doors from the inside, blocked access from the outside with sit-in blockades and erected tents in the inner courtyard. However, there were also protests against the occupation.
The police wrote on the X platform (formerly Twitter) in the evening that around a dozen pro-Palestinian sympathizers were occupying the Audimax. Supporters were in the vicinity.
Rector Eva Inés Obergfell said: "Protests and demonstrations are fundamentally legitimate as long as they pursue the goal of information and understanding. Endangering bystanders and escalation, on the other hand, are not an acceptable form of free debate." The university has filed a criminal complaint. Teaching in the Audimax will be suspended for the rest of the week.
On Tuesday, activists had also set up a pro-Palestinian camp at Freie Universität Berlin. This was cleared by the police shortly afterwards.
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