There were clashes between demonstrators and police at a climate protest in the German port city of Hamburg on Saturday.
According to the police, participants who had blocked the Kattwyk Bridge attacked the officers with pepper spray, to which the officers responded with pepper spray, batons and water cannon in order to disperse the gathering.
A spokesperson for demonstrators described the incident as "a new high point of police violence."
The activists also blocked the Köhlbrand Bridge and, among others, railway lines used by the Hamburg Port Authority.
"We are blocking a central hub of German foreign trade here to draw attention to the consequences of modern colonialism," said a statement from the environmental movement Extinction Rebellion.
Five marches had been announced for Saturday in Hamburg. The first large demonstration saw around 2,000 people set off from the Altona Park to a nearby train station.
