The four—two of whom are trans—have been given until April to leave Germany, with a ban on re-entry and residence for 3 years after. [Getty]
The Berlin Senate, an executive body in the German capital, is trying to deport four pro-Palestine activists without a hearing or formal criminal charges in an unprecedented move that critics say is illegal and mirrors the draconian deportations being ordered by the Trump administration.
According to the German authorities, these measures—which involve three EU nationals (two Irish, one Polish) and one US citizen—are necessary because they threaten ‘national security’, but the activists’ legal team insists that the German state is trampling on free speech rights and using lower-level laws to crack down on pro-Palestinian and anti-war activism.
The four—two of whom identify as trans—have been given until April to leave Germany, with a ban on re-entry and residence for 3 years after.
All four individuals allegedly participated in a pro-Palestinian protest camp in the courtyard of the Freie Universität Berlin, which had called for a stop to Israel’s war on Gaza. Individuals appealing deportation are typically allowed to remain in Germany while their cases are processed. In this instance, the authorities have opted for an expedited removal, a decision which their legal team say is highly unusual.
One of the activists, Kasia Wlaszczyk, said that “As a trans guy, it will be difficult to find the same access to health care. My girlfriend, closest friends, which I consider my family, and my political community are all here in Berlin”. Meanwhile, another activist, Cooper Longbottom, describes “returning to the United States, where Trump is violently cracking down on pro-Palestinian solidarity and rolling back on LGBTQ+ protections” as “very scary”.
“For the sole reason of protesting Germany’s complicity in the ongoing genocide in Palestine, Berlin’s Senate Department for the Interior and Sport has ordered our expulsion, arbitrarily accusing us of ‘antisemitism‘ and supporting ‘terrorist organisations’ referring to Hamas, as well as ‘its front organisations in Germany and Europe'”, said the activists in a statement.
“Not one of us has a criminal record”, the statement added.
In internal emails seen by The New Arab between the Senate Department for the Interior and Sport and the Berlin Senate, Foreign Office workers contested the legality of the Berlin Senate’s deportation request but to no avail.
“The decisions of the Foreign Office are politically motivated because it’s very unusual to take away the right to stay in Germany on such a weak basis. It is all about mere accusations of minor crimes in the context of protests and demonstration in solidarity with Palestine,” said lawyer Benjamin Düsberg, one member of the 5-person legal team representing the activists.
The German police accuse the activists of “spreading antisemitic hatred and incitement”. The document refers to “anti-Israeli hatred” as a criminal offence. The activists are also accused of a range of offences, including resisting arrest, disturbing the peace and damage to public property. The legal team say the deportation decision is unprecedented.
“The legal threshold to expel people is much higher. You have to determine that a person poses a severe danger to public security, and this isn’t established at all in the cases of our clients. To make matters worse, all suspensive effects of the appeals have been stripped away—meaning that if the court rejects our complaints, our clients could face immediate deportation. This is not just a legal failure; it is a grave injustice with life-altering consequences for those affected,” said Düsberg.
Wlaszczyk called the letters an “intimidation tactic as part of a broader repression against Palestine solidarity in Berlin and more broadly in Germany“.
“In the decisions that were issued, the foreign office explicitly refers to the ‘Staatsräson‘ [Reasons of the state], a notion which doesn’t have a legal basis at all. This also confirms the political motivation for the decisions and their lack of legal foundation. This is definitely illegal,” said Düsberg.
Staatsräson: Israel’s ‘right to exist’
Germany views Israel’s ‘right to exist’, its security, and its sovereignty as fundamental to its own national identity, otherwise known as reason of state (Staatsräson). More recently, the likely next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, invited Netanyahu to Germany despite an ICC arrest warrant against him for crimes against humanity.
Following the Hamas-led 7 October attacks on southern Israel and the ensuing Israeli war on the enclave, Germany imposed a temporary ban on pro-Palestinian protests after concerns they would pose ‘an imminent danger to public safety and order.’
More recently, German police have come under scrutiny for banning the use of Arabic at a pro-Palestinian protest, a move that has sparked widespread criticism. Meanwhile, demonstrations in Berlin have continued, with human rights organisations pointing out the excessive force used against pro-Palestinian protesters. Last year, Amnesty International called for an independent investigation after repeated reports of heavy-handed policing.
“German politicians must urgently review and tackle the deeply troubling legal landscape that they have constructed that dehumanises and stigmatises Palestinians and punishes those who support them while legitimising Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and its violations and crimes in the occupied West Bank. In short: stop punishing Palestinians and those expressing Palestinian solidarity and begin a concerted cooperation effort to prevent, end and punish those who commit acts of genocide and other atrocities”, said Esther Major, the Deputy Director of Research for the Europe Regional Office at Amnesty International.
The deportation decisions come amid a wider international push to suppress such activism, with the Trump administration in the United States also signalling its intent to deport legally present pro-Palestinian students on national security grounds.
During his campaign, US President Donald Trump pledged to target and deport students involved in pro-Palestinian protests, a stance that has drawn backlash from civil rights advocates. The parallel efforts in Germany and the US highlight a growing trend of state-led suppression against pro-Palestinian voices, raising questions about the limits of free expression in Western democracies.
