MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Saturday, the Germany-based Pegida movement held anti-Islamization rallies all over Europe. The British branch of the group held a so-called Silent March in the West Midlands city of Birmingham.
According to the Sky News television channel, some 200 people turned up to the rally. The media outlet reported that despite the relatively low turnout, the group was hoping to return to the same location throughout 2016.
"We are aware that protest organisers have intimated their desire to protest again at the site later in the year. We have not received any formal notification … we have a duty to facilitate protests as long as they are peaceful and within the law," a West Midlands Police spokeswoman said, as quoted by the channel.
Pegida, an acronym for Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West, began organizing rallies in its home city of Dresden in October 2014, attracting hundreds and later thousands of supporters.
The far-right German movement gained support in many member states of the European Union amid rising anti-migrant sentiment as Europe faces its biggest refugee crisis since World War II.
