THOUSANDS PROTEST AS GERMAN POLICE GIVEN POWERS TO OPEN MAIL UNDER NEW LAWS
May 10, 2018 in News by RBN Staff
via: BLACKLISTED NEWS
SOURCE: RT
Organizers expected some 7,000 protesters to take part in the rally which is underway at Munich Marienplatz, the city’s central square and transport hub.
Footage of the rally shows a crowded central square. Due to the high number of protesters, Munich police took to Twitter to urge new arrivals to go to nearby Odeonsplatz as Marienplatz had grown too full.
Some 65 organizations, including opposition parties Greens, SPD and FDP, oppose the planned Police Task Force Act (PAG). The legislation would allow authorities to open letters, survey apartments as well as scan email and telephone conversations.
The new law is intended to give investigators more powers to search through citizens’ private correspondence in cases where danger is considered “imminent.” However, critics have warned that the term is too vague and is open to manipulation by police looking to gain spying powers in cases that do not warrant their use.
Bavaria’s ruling CSU party has come in for criticism from opposition parties over its increased emphasis on security. “The surveillance mania of the CSU endangers our liberties,” said Green politician Katharina Schulze in the state parliament, according to Munich newspaper Abend Zeitung .
