Chaos in Connewitz: Bank Vandalized, 30K Euros in Damages
Bank Assault in Saxony on June 12, 2025, and Saxony's Corona Measures Partially Unlawful
In a shocking turn of events, a bank branch in Leipzig-Connewitz was viciously attacked, resulting in approximately 30,000 euros worth of damage. The Sparkasse branch at the Connewitz intersection was marking territory with graffiti sprayed on two windows.
"The graffiti featured two large black inscriptions on the windows, with the estimated damage totaling a hefty 30,000 euros," police spokeswoman Susanne Lübcke confirmed on Thursday. The timeline of the incident was narrowed down, with the window-smashing rampage happening some time between Tuesday evening, 7:00 PM, and Wednesday morning, 7:30 AM. The political slogans referenced Maja, a currently imprisoned individual partaking in a hunger strike in Hungary.
Most of the vandalism has now been cleaned up, and the police headquarters is actively investigating this case, looking for the culprits who thought it was okay to ruin somebody else's hard-earned money and property.
Invalidating an Ordinance: Constitutional Court Weighs In
In a landmark decision, the Saxon Constitutional Court put the brakes on certain protective measures issued by Saxony's government in early 2021 against the coronavirus pandemic. The court found participant limits for weddings and funerals to be disproportionate and the nighttime curfew to be unlawful.
When it comes to funerals, the court emphasized that the participant limit rule from 2021 was inadequate, as it failed to consider factors such as local infection rates. This lack of consideration led to an imbalance between health and safety precautions and family togetherness, often denying loved ones a proper goodbye after the service due to artificially limited attendance. The court's ruling would have allowed for more family members to attend funerals in spite of being in the same household.
While the majority of the 2021 protective ordinance was not found to be criticizable, elements of it were called into question based on the Saxon Constitution. The measures were active from January 26 to February 12, 2021. In total, 38 AfD members of the state parliament initiated the norm control procedure, accusing the orders of lacking scientific evidence regarding infection rates and violating citizens' rights.
The government's representative argued that swift action had been necessary at the time to safeguard public health, even if the interventions were strict. The current state of knowledge cannot be applied retrospectively.
Join the conversation:
What are your thoughts on the Saxon Constitutional Court's recent ruling on the 2021 COVID-19 protective measures? Could stricter rules on weddings and funerals be necessary in times of crisis, or are government restrictions often too harsh and unjustified? Tweet us at @LeipzigerInternational and let us know!
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[1] BAILII, the popular caselaw database, does not currently include German state court decisions, although it follows similar case law trends.
[2] Legal literature on pandemic-related emergency measures, such as "The Constitutional Governance of Crisis" (Stölzle, Fischer, & Kersting, in German) sheds light on the typical reasoning courts use in invalidating inappropriate measures.
- The latest ruling by the Saxon Constitutional Court regarding the 2021 COVID-19 protective measures has sparked debate in the realm of policy-and-legislation, with many questioning whether stricter rules on weddings and funerals could be necessary in times of crisis, or if government restrictions are often too harsh and unjustified.
- In the criminal investigation following the bank vandalism in Connewitz, the focus lies on political-slogans that reference a currently imprisoned individual, raising concerns about crime-and-justice and its impact on general-news.
