No legal basis to ban Islamist protest in Hamburg, police say

Another demonstration by the Islamist organization Muslim Interaktiv in Hamburg will be allowed to proceed, less than two weeks after an earlier demonstration caused a national uproar in Germany.

Hamburg's police chief Falk Schnabel said on Wednesday that the group's planned demonstration called for Saturday will be subject to strict conditions by authorities. Muslim Interaktiv is classified as an extremist group by the German authorities.

Schnabel said that police intensively examined options for an outright ban on the group's demonstration, and reviewed footage from the group's previous demonstration on April 27.

But authorities again could not find a solid basis for an outright ban on the demonstration, a conclusion that was also reached before the April 27 march, Schnabel said.

The answer from experts was that "a ban will not be legally enforceable," he said.

However, as in April, authorities have warned the group that incitement to violence or comments denying Israel's right to exist would not be tolerated.

As an additional condition, calls for establishing a caliphate on German soil will also not be permitted.

At the first rally at the end of April, which was organized by Muslim Interaktiv, around 1,000 demonstrators denounced what they saw as Islamophobic politics and media coverage in Germany.

Some protesters also called for establishing a caliphate as a solution to social problems, something that sparked nationwide outrage in Germany and denunciations from leading politicians.