A German court has decided to allow activists to place a trophy Russian tank near the Russian embassy in Berlin, rejecting the objections of local officials who opposed the idea, reports Deutsche Welle.

Two Berlin museum operators have won an appeal after local authorities rejected their initial request to place a tank, which was badly damaged before being seized, outside the Russian embassy in central Berlin.

The decision, which the authorities can challenge in a higher court, forces the Mitte district of the German capital to allow an action it had initially tried to block.

Enno Lenze and Wieland Giebel of the Berlin Story Bunker first proposed the idea in June, saying they wanted to place a damaged T-90 tank outside the Russian embassy on the famous Unter den Linden boulevard for two weeks.

They said they were inspired by similar actions in cities such as Kyiv, Prague and Warsaw.

“But the Berlin city government said no,” Lenze announced, adding that officials in the Mitte district “had ridiculous reasons.”

“First of all, they said it [acțiunea] will threaten the security of the Federal Republic of Germany. This can be dangerous for cyclists, pedestrians, car drivers, truck drivers. This can traumatize Syrian refugees. It could be a problem for the kebab shop across the street and so on,” he said.

A damaged Russian tank will be displayed in front of the Russian embassy

Another justification given by German officials was that “people probably died” in the damaged combat vehicle, but also mentioned possible negative consequences for Germany’s foreign relations.

Although the Berlin Arbitration Court won the activists’ case, on Tuesday it rejected part of their plans. He said the center of Unter den Linden would likely not be able to handle the 40 or so tons of metal from the decommissioned tank, suggesting instead that it be placed on Schadowstrasse, a nearby street across from the embassy.

The court also recommended that this smaller street be closed to avoid any risk of traffic disruption.

The Berlin court also said that another question raised by Mitte district officials, whether the exhibition could properly be classified as “art”, was irrelevant.

“Whether the act is art or not is immaterial, because in any case, as an expression of opinion, it falls within the constitutional protection of free speech,” the court said in a press release explaining its decision.

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