BERLIN (Reuters) -German arms manufacturers face risks of property attacks from mounting protests, federal criminal investigators warned in a document seen by Reuters on Monday, ahead of an action targeting Rheinmetall this week.
In a memo by the Federal Criminal Police Office, the agency said “Rheinmetall entwaffnen” or “Disarm Rheinmetall” protest could lead to property-related offences, as seen at similar events in previous years.
Protesters plan to protest at Rheinmetall’s site in Cologne from Tuesday through Sunday, calling for a rejection of the “war regime”.
In an emailed statement to Reuters, a Rheinmetall spokesperson said the company was in touch with security authorities and had taken appropriate precautions, without giving details.
Protest organisers said details of protest activities were available online. “Of course we also welcome creative and diverse forms of anti-militaristic protest,” a spokesperson for the group told Reuters.
While it had no concrete evidence of planned criminal activity, Germany’s criminal police office said defence companies, as well as their suppliers and partners, “are increasingly becoming the focus of politically motivated crime”, particularly stemming from the left.
The memo said wars in Ukraine and Gaza were whipping up anti-military sentiment while rising German investment in the armed forces was fuelling backlash against the defence industry.
Alongside Rheinmetall, a key supplier of weapons to Ukraine and its European allies, the memo also mentioned Israeli defence company Elbit Systems, which operates a site in Ulm, southwest Germany, as a potential target.
The document said Palestine Action, which has been banned in Britain under anti-terrorism legislation, was one of the groups regularly organising protests in Germany, without giving further details.
(Reporting by Sabine Siebold; Writing by Rachel More; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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