Police allow protest against Tesla's Berlin plant to continue

A protest camp set up by activists near Tesla's only European plant to the east of Berlin may continue to operate, a police spokesman told dpa on Monday.
Permission for the gathering had been extended, he said. The "Stop Tesla" alliance had applied for the extension and the relevant ruling had been expected.
"We're staying," a spokeswoman for the activists said. "We believe that there continue to be urgent reasons for our protest."
The Stop Tesla activists allege that the huge plant is associated with risks to the environment and have been occupying part of the forest designated for an expansion of the site since February. The US carmaker has rejected the allegations.
On Thursday, a regional civil court rejected a complaint from police in the state of Brandenburg, in which the plant lies.
The issue concerned rules for the camp, which provided for tree houses to be removed among other provisions. An earlier decision by a lower court backed the protest camp and lifted the rules.
Police appealed against that decision. The regional court has now ruled in favour of the protest camp.