Police remove 5 people from demonstration held in support of Palestine

According to the police, the demonstration held in support of Palestine on Tallinn's Freedom Square on Sunday was predominantly peaceful, but five people were nevertheless removed from the event and proceedings were launched against them.

A demonstration was held on Freedom Square at 3 p.m. on Saturday, where those present showed support for Palestinian civilians who have been injured or killed as a result of the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Madis Allak, head of operations at the North Prefecture of the Police and Border Guard Board, told the daily that it is estimated that up to 300 people participated in the demonstration and the event was peaceful.

«We informed the participants of the demonstration beforehand, both through the media and the organizer, that justifying aggression and using materials promoting anti-Semitism are prohibited,» he said.

In total, the police removed five people from the demonstration and launched misdemeanor proceedings against them under the section dealing with the support and justification of an international crime. All cases were related to the slogan or wording «From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free».

«This message can be interpreted as a public exhibition of a symbol of a crime against humanity, as it calls for the end of the existence of the state of Israel. It is also an anti-Semitic slogan, the use of which justifies committing acts against humanity,» Allak added.

According to the organizers, the purpose of the demonstration was to raise awareness based on reliable, academic sources and public information, to influence the Estonian government to condemn the illegal and inhumane use of force by the Israeli government against civilians in Gaza and to demand a ceasefire, as well as to remember those who have died in Gaza.

Each participant of the demonstration could pick up sheets of paper bearing the name of children killed by Israeli military forces in recent attacks, which were laid down on Freedom Square.

«With this, the lives of these innocent children are remembered and commemorated and attention is drawn to the fact that the Israeli Defense Forces have brutally killed thousands of children, which the governments of many Western countries, including the Estonian government, have so far turned a blind eye to,» the organizers said.