German city Hamburg cancels danger zone

After days of protests in Hamburg, the so-called danger zone in the German city have been canceled, Hamburg police announced on Monday. Police said their goals of setting up a danger zone were reached and that there were no more attacks on police officials. The danger zone set up on Jan. 4 in Hamburg's most popular districts was in response to a riot that took place at the end of 2013. Last week, the size of the zone was reduced after the trouble died down. In the danger zone, police are given extraordinary powers to stop and check people without concrete suspicion, issue restraining orders and also take people into custody. However, there were massive protests against the establishment of the danger zone. On Monday, 3,000 students from Hamburg University demanded for the immediate abolition of the zone. They also triggered criticism from other political parties in Germany. More than 100 police officers and 500 protesters were injured in a clash on Dec. 21 when protesters rallied to oppose to the demolition of a left-wing cultural center in Hamburg.