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Doreen Denstädt becomes eastern Germany’s first black minister

Former policewoman Doreen Denstädt became the first black minister in ex-communist eastern Germany on Wednesday, taking over the justice and migration brief in a hotbed of right-wing extremism.

Former policewoman Doreen Denstädt became the first black minister in ex-communist east Germany on Wednesday.
Former policewoman Doreen Denstädt became the first black minister in ex-communist east Germany on Wednesday. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Martin Schutt

Denstädt, 45, belongs to the Greens and assumed the office in Thuringia state from Dirk Adams, who was fired after his management of immigration policy lost the support of the ecologist party.

Thuringia is governed by a fractious coalition of the far-left Linke party, the Social Democrats and the Greens who formed a bulwark against the far-right AfD party, which is polling at around 30 percent.

The state chapter of the AfD, an anti-migrant, anti-Muslim party, is considered particularly radical and has been placed under surveillance by the
domestic security watchdog, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution.

“If you like the constitution in Thuringia, you’re considered a leftist,” Denstädt, whose Tanzanian father studied in Germany, told the daily Tagesspiegel.

“I can be visible – after all I always stood out in a white-majority society, whether I wanted to or not.”

Denstädt, whose new office oversees the judicial system as well as migrant and refugee affairs, has said she intends to be a voice for victims of crime, racism and discrimination.

She noted that she as a German citizen is regularly asked to show her residency papers and does not ride public transportation at night for fear of racist attacks.

READ ALSO: Black people in Germany face ‘widespread’ racism, study finds

Denstädt, who only entered politics in 2021, faced a deluge of hate speech online when it was announced she would become a minister.

But she said she has also received widespread encouragement and support for her highly visible new position.

“An incredible number of people got in touch to say they’re proud of me and hopeful about what I can do,” she told Tagesspiegel.

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PROTESTS

Six injured and three arrested in far-left protest in eastern Germany

At least six people were injured and three arrested on Friday evening after far-left protesters clashed with police in Leipzig, eastern Germany, with more demonstrations expected on Saturday despite a local ban on marches.

Six injured and three arrested in far-left protest in eastern Germany

Protesters set up road blocks, started fires and threw projectiles at security forces from rooftops and on the streets to protest prison terms handed out to four far-left activists, police said.

At least five police officers and a reporter were injured during the protest, while three out of some 800 demonstrators were arrested.

“We have launched inquires into public disorder, dangerous injuries, assaults on police officers, damage to property and the illegal use of explosives,” Leipzig police tweeted on Saturday.

The unrest came after a court in Dresden, Saxony, on Wednesday sentenced a 28-year-old student identified in German media as Lina E. and three other far-left militants, known as Lennart A., Jannis R. and Jonathan M., aged between 28 and 37, to several years in prison.

Lina E. and the other defendants were found guilty of violent attacks on neo-Nazis and alleged far-right supporters between 2018 and 2020.

In particular, the group was found responsible for six attacks that injured a total of 13 people, with two suffering life-threatening injuries.

Since 2020, when Lina E. was remanded in custody, the slogan “Free Lina” has featured regularly at left-wing protests, with graffiti dedicated to the student now being a regular sighting on buildings in Leipzig, Hamburg and Berlin.

At the time of writing, it appeared that protests would continue on Saturday as far-left activists called on social media for a national day of action in Leipzig despite a ban on demonstrations issued by local authorities.

Leipzig police were reportedly “preparing for potential violence” as the available information “suggests that protesters will still gather in Leipzig on Saturday”, a police spokesperson told CNN on Friday.

At the time of writing, there was a possibility that further protests might be held in other German cities, including Bremen, Hanover, Hamburg and Berlin.

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