MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st March, 2021) �An employee of the Sputnik Germany news agency was injured by tear gas in the� German city of Kassel during a Saturday protest against the coronavirus restrictions.
"Everything happened in a break. One employee was hit when the police used gas canisters," Sergei Feoktistov, editor-in-chief of Sputnik Germany, told Sputnik by phone.
According to the police, up to 20,000 protesters without masks took the streets of Kassel to demonstrate against what they believe to be unnecessary restrictions to tackle the spread of the coronavirus. The riot was marked by clashes between the security forces and rally participants, with law enforcement troops using pepper spray and batons, as well as a water cannon in response to protesters' attempt to break through a cordon.
The police explained to Sputnik that the city administration earlier authorized several demonstrations allowing a total of 6,000 participants, but instead, a large group of protesters gathered in the city center, defiantly violating health measures. Besides, the police noted, demonstrators ignored police warnings and were aggressive towards the security forces.
In the meantime, rallies against the COVID-19 measures in Berlin ended peacefully, the city police told Sputnik.
Protests against the restrictive measures took place over weekend in several other European nations, including Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Finland.
