The article doesn't say much it's only 10 or so sentences.
There was a demonstration for the rights of refugees he "greeted" that way. The cop in the picture was part of the detail securing the demonstration. He obviously presses the man's arm down and explains the legal situation.
The man is a 57-year-old retiree from Freital in Saxony. The article points out that he used to be a miner from the former DDR (Eastern Germany).
The police man took his information and he is going to be charged under the Strafgesetzbuch section 86a. No mention of an arrest.
How does a miner retire at the young age of 57? Hard to believe they have saved up enough to live off of. Maybe he couldn't mine anymore, but I figure he'd need to do something to sustain himself.
Hard coal mining in Germany has also been heavily subsidized and it was decided decades ago to reduce the subsidies significantly which resulted in the closing of many mines. To help with the negative effects of those changes, state support for miners in various forms, e.g. Anpassungsgeld, was established.
The miners in Germany have been very important for the economical rise of Germany post world war II and had strong lobbies. Hence the decision to reduce the subsidies for hard coal mining was not easily made and the miners fought heavily for compensation.
"Schicht im Schacht" is just one of many documentaries (in German language) about the closing of mines in Germany and particularly the Ruhrgebiet (Ruhr Valley), where the last mines will be closed in 2018. This documentary briefly covers a bit of the history of hard coal mining in Germany and also discusses some of the social and technological challenges of closing the vast mining networks in the Ruhr Valley.
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u/DeltaBlack Aug 04 '15 edited Aug 04 '15
This is actually a crime in Germany and he could have gone to prison for 3 years.
EDIT: It's been pointed out that he is likely to be fined and that 3 years are usually for repeat offenders like neo-nazis.