Overview
- The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe dismissed the complaint in case 1 BvR 2428/20, leaving the conviction in place.
- The judges held that sit-ins are generally covered by freedom of assembly but not when designed to strongly disrupt another permitted assembly, allowing criminal penalties.
- The case stems from a Freiburg counter-demonstration over a decade ago in which about 70 activists blocked a roughly 100-person Piusbruderschaft march and were removed from the street.
- A participant was convicted by the Freiburg local court of disturbing assemblies and fined, and the Higher Regional Court rejected his appeal in September 2020.
- The decision aligns with Section 21 of the Assembly Act, which provides for punishment of violent or gross disruptions of lawful gatherings.