German court bans far-right march in host city

GELSENKIRCHEN, June 8 (Reuters) A German court ruled today that a far-right group would not be allowed to march through the World Cup host city of Gelsenkirchen because it would threaten public security.

The far-right National Democratic Party (NPD), which the government tried unsuccessfully to ban five years ago, had planned to march in Gelsenkirchen on Saturday, a day after Ecuador play Poland in the city's new stadium.

But the presiding judge ruled against the NPD, arguing that the march would pose ''an immediate threat to public security''.

The panel of judges said they based their decision on information received from the Italian interior ministry last month stating that the NPD members had decided at a meeting in Austria earlier this year to cause trouble.

The judges said there was no reason to doubt the credibility of the Italian information.

A court spokesman said the NPD could appeal the decision at the constitutional court.

Ruediger von Schoenfeldt, Gelsenkirchen's police chief, has said the march was part of ''the NPD's nationwide campaign during the World Cup aimed at vilifying dark-skinned players.'' The NPD is also planning marches in the central city of Frankfurt and in Munich in the south during the World Cup, which runs from tomorrow until July 9.

Police across Germany have said they are on the alert for far-right violence following a series of attacks on dark-skinned immigrants in the ex-communist eastern part of the country.

Gelsenkirchen is in the former western part of Germany but suffers from similarly high unemployment and social tensions as the country's eastern states.

REUTERS DH PM1901