German given 3 1/2 year sentence over Hamburg G20 riot

BERLIN – A man has been sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison for throwing a bottle at police officers during the riots that accompanied last year’s Group of 20 summit in Hamburg — the highest sentence yet over the disturbances.

German news agency dpa reported Tuesday that the Hamburg district court convicted the 28-year-old German, whose name wasn’t released, of bodily harm, attacking officers and breaching the peace. The court found that the man, who had a significant previous criminal record, broke a beer bottle and threw it at police, hitting one officer and lightly injuring his hand.

Hamburg saw three nights of violence during the anti-globalization protests as leaders of the world’s biggest industrial and developing countries met in the northern port city in early July.