Germany has recently taken a chilling new step, signalling its willingness to use political views as grounds to curb migration. Authorities are now moving to deport foreign nationals for participating in pro-Palestine actions. As I reported this week in the Intercept, four people in Berlin – three EU citizens and one US citizen – are set to be deported over their involvement in demonstrations against Israel’s war on Gaza. None of the four have been convicted of a crime, and yet the authorities are seeking to simply throw them out of the country.
The accusations against them include aggravated breach of the peace and obstruction of a police arrest. Reports from last year suggest that one of the actions they were alleged to have been involved in included breaking into a university building and threatening people with objects that could have been used as potential weapons.
But the deportation orders go further. They cite a broader list of alleged behaviours: chanting slogans such as “Free Gaza” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”, joining road blockades (a tactic frequently used by climate activists), and calling a police officer a “fascist”. Read closely, the real charge appears to be something more basic: protest itself.
Where’s the freedom of expression?
I don’t even like the phrase “from the river to the sea…” because it implies denying the two-state solution, but even people I disagree with should be free to profess their political views without fear.
That’s a good point, because the protestors took a building by force and threatened staff and students with violence, while also smashing electronics into pieces.
I don’t think protests should go as far as to instill fear into innocent citizens.
When it comes to accusations in a functional state, innocence must be presumed. If they are brought to trial and fairly tried, they should then receive the appropriate sentence to their crimes, which could very well involve deportation. It’s trivial, but according to the article the individuals in question were not tried and convicted for any crimes. The current scenario is simply a violation of freedom of expression.