Just before Sonneberg’s Christopher Street Day (CSD), the Administrative Court of Meiningen overturned most of the restrictions the AfD-led county office had imposed on the demonstration. The Second Senate granted a fast-track ruling in six of seven contested points (case no. 2 E 1396/26 Me). The CSD scheduled for this Saturday carries the theme “Stop Queerphobia — We are here, we are loud.” The march begins at 1 p.m. on Bahnhofplatz.
The organizers had challenged several provisions in the June 29 decision from the district office. Among the disputed rules were those governing stewards, limits to permitted rally materials, the press labeling requirement for printed materials, and detailed specifications about the materials and dimensions of flagpoles and banners. The organizers also contested an obligation to clean up the rally site after the event.
Court finds authorities’ justification lacking
According to a press release from the court, the conditions imposed in the decision were “partly entirely without justification, partly lacking a risk assessment that could be reviewed by the court.” Consequently, the requirement that two stewards identify demonstrators as needed will no longer apply on Saturday. The court’s assessment indicates that several of the district’s justifications did not meet the standard for an order restricting a civil demonstration.
A separate portion of the ruling addressed a media- and security-related provision; the report notes a social-media- or press-related requirement was among the contested items, and the court’s decision effectively removes at least some of these constraints for the upcoming event. The article also includes an Instagram post embed to illustrate coverage of the moment, though the court did not rely on such non-legal sources for its decision.
Only one point of the request remained unsuccessful: the prohibition on weapons, dangerous items, and disguises. The court described this restriction as a declaratory reference to the assembly law, and noted that the district authority had at least partially justified it.
AfD-Landrat appears to accept the ruling
District Administrator Robert Sesselmann (AfD) told MDR that, for now, there are no plans to appeal the decision before Saturday; the matter is being handled by the legal department of his office. In commenting on the ruling, he said the court had effectively told them to “do it this way.”
The ruling is not final. An appeal to the Thuringian Higher Administrative Court remains possible against the decision. Sesselmann was elected in 2023 with 58.2 percent of the vote, making him the first AfD politician to lead a German rural district. In response, rapper Maurice Conrad released the song “CSD in Sonneberg,” which includes the line “It’s CSD in Sonneberg and the AfD is outraged,” as reported by TheColu.mn. A year later, the town actually hosted its first Pride demonstration (TheColu.mn reported). (mize)
Direct link | The 2023 song “CSD in Sonneberg”
