Investigation into alleged provocations by ex-Pink Floyd Roger Waters during a concert in Berlin

German police announced on Friday May 26 that they had opened an investigation into alleged provocations during a concert by ex-Pink Floyd Roger Waters. In particular, he wore an outfit evoking an SS officer. “We are investigating suspicions of incitement to hatred because the clothes worn on stage are likely to glorify or justify the National Socialist regime and disturb the public peace”police spokesman Martin Halweg told AFP.

Footage circulating on social media shows Waters wearing a long black coat and red arm bands at a concert on May 17 at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin. Several German and Israeli media also evoke the inscription in red letters on a screen of the names of Anne Frank and Shireen Abu Akleh, Palestinian-American star journalist for the Al Jazeera channel killed during an Israeli raid in May 2022.

“We are investigating and once the procedure is completed, we will forward it to the public prosecutor for a final legal assessment”, said the police spokesman. It will be up to the prosecutor’s office to decide whether to take any legal action.

Previous controversies

On Wednesday May 24, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs thus reproached Waters for having “stained the memory of Anne Frank and the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust”. “Waters wants to compare Israel to the Nazis”. He is “one of the greatest detractors of the Jews of our time”reacted the Israeli ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, on Twitter.

Roger Waters, 79, takes a stand regularly, such as on the war in Ukraine. “It is not true that the Russian invasion of Ukraine was unprovoked”, he had notably declared on February 8 before the UN Security Council, where he had been invited by Russia to speak. He also defends actions to boycott Israeli products in the name of defending the Palestinian cause.

A concert by the British singer scheduled for May 28 had been canceled by Frankfurt authorities but the decision was overturned by an administrative court in the name of freedom of expression. The local Frankfurt Jewish community and the Green Party are calling for a protest demonstration against the new concert on Sunday.