2500 German police evict tenants from Berlin's squat

[News_Editor 48]

2500 German police evict tenants from Berlin's squat

2011-02-02 22:31:28 GMT+7 (ICT)

BERLIN (BNO NEWS) -- Around 2,500 police officers were deployed across Berlin to evict illegal tenants from one of the city's last surviving squats, DPA news agency reported.

Police used an axe and a battering ram to break down the door of Liebigstrasse 14, in east Berlin. But tenants had ripped out staircases and built extra walls to prevent police from reaching them.

It took over five hours before police were able to fully reclaim the property, arresting six men and five women.

Hundreds of supporters participated in violent protests in solidarity with the squatters. Protesters, some of them with their faces covered, threw bottles and stones at riot police. Several police officers were injured.

Liebigstrasse 14 was occupied in 1990, shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the squatters later received tenancy agreements. At the end of the 1990s, however, the house was sold to private owners and they were given notice. After several court battles they were given until February 2 to leave.

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