Court clears the way for Liebigstraße 34 eviction
The Berlin regional court has ruled that residents of the famous leftwing, queer housing project in Friedrichshain must leave the building.
Berlin-The residents of the legendary Liebig 34 queer-feminist, leftwing housing project on Rigaer Straße in Friedrichshain suffered a massive legal defeat on Wednesday. Berlin’s regional court ruled to uphold a June court decision against the Raduga collective which runs the project.
As a result, the association must hand over the building to its owner. What’s more, it has to cough up a €60,000 security deposit, as the judgement is not yet final. The association's lawyer, Moritz Heusinger, said he would appeal the decision.
The building on the corner of Rigaer and Liebigstraße is known across Europe as a stronghold of the anarchist scene and alternative culture in Berlin. The residents refer to themselves as an "anarcha-queer-feminist house project" organised without cis-men.
The building was first squatted in 1990. Shortly thereafter it was legalised. In 2008, Raduga signed a lease with the owner of the building which expired on 31 December 2018. Since then, the residents have refused to leave the building, despite being given notice.
After the hearing, the owner's lawyer said that the eviction would require “more effort” than the "average eviction". He also said that his client lives under the constant threat of danger to his person. The attorney added that prior to a previous court date someone had poured butyric acid on his client’s car.
According to Liebig 34's website, residents are planning an "action week" to protest eviction beginning 7 September.