Thousands who reject the restrictions imposed in the face of Covid-19 defied the ban on demonstrations, and gathered illegally on the streets of Berlin on Sunday, which led to clashes with the police.

Police said that some protesters "harassed and attacked" a number of its members in the Charlottenburg district, west of the German capital, and ignored roadblocks in the city.

"They tried to bypass the police force by force. This led to the use of gas, batons and physical violence," Berlin police wrote on Twitter, noting that many people had been arrested.

A police spokesman later said that 5,000 people had taken part in the protest and that more than 600 had been arrested.

The protest was organized by the Koerdenker (Free Thinkers) movement, which has emerged as the main critic of Germany's health restrictions.

Authorities had banned a number of demonstrations that were scheduled to be organized at the end of the week. It was assumed that 22,500 people will participate in one of these marches Sunday.

A court stated that it could not allow gatherings to take place, for fear of participants violating the rules of wearing masks and social distancing, at a time when the number of cases in Germany is rising again.

Berlin police deployed more than 2,000 riot gear across the city, in anticipation of the protesters gathering despite the ban.

Some of the demonstrators raised banners reading "Freedom" and "No Corona Dictatorship", while the largest number of participants did not wear masks.

The police threatened to use water cannons to disperse groups heading to the Brandenburg Gate in the afternoon, before the demonstrators left.

Germany's Koerdenker movement has attracted a mix of people, including anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists and members of the far-right Alternative for Germany party.

Thousands, and sometimes tens of thousands, participated in the "Kwerdenker" demonstrations, but their gatherings are usually dispersed for violating the rules to contain the virus. Some of the demonstrations were marked by sporadic violence.

The German Internal Security Service announced in April that it would censor some Koerdenker members over concerns about their threat to democracy and their association with the far-right.