DEFEND THE #BERLIN4
8AM–NOON MONDAY 07.04
NEW LOCATION: Across the road from Stresemannstr. 115, 10963 Berlin
YOU CAN’T DEPORT A MOVEMENT
YOU CAN’T DEPORT A MOVEMENT – STOP ALL DEPORTATIONS! DEFEND THE #BERLIN4!
RALLY THIS MONDAY, 7TH APRIL 8:00 AM – NOON. BE LOUD. BE MANY.
They want to deport our comrades – but they will have to face us first.
The very politicians responsible for the politically motivated deportation orders of the #BERLIN4 will be inside the Berlin House of Representatives at the Interior Affairs Committee meeting while we rally outside.
Monday, 7th April
8:00 am – 12:00 pm
Come as early as possible
Abgeordnetenhaus Berlin
Niederkirchnerstr. 5
10117 Berlin
SHOW UP THIS MONDAY. BE LOUD. BE MANY.
BRING POTS, PANS AND NOISE MAKERS
Refugees and pro-Palestine activists of colour in Germany have already been criminalised and deported simply for showing solidarity with the people of Palestine.
Since October 2023, Germany has intensified its repression of pro-Palestinian voices, freezing all asylum applications from Palestinians from Gaza, with the official so-called justification that “the current events [in Gaza] are consistently unclear and difficult to assess” (BAMF).
If Germany accepts that Palestinians from Gaza require asylum, they have to accept that their bombs are creating the conditions which must be fled.
The international community has largely stayed silent on the repression and criminalisation of Palestinians and allies in Germany.
Palestinians have been abducted from the streets of Berlin and exiled to Greece without so much as a peep in the media.
Now, four international activists, three from the EU and one from the US, have been ordered to leave Germany by 21 April 2025.
No convictions, no criminal records. Again, punishment for protesting Germany’s role in Israel’s genocide of Palestinians.
The deportees’ lawyer, Alexander Gorski, has “warned that the cases are a test run for broader repression against immigrants and activists in Germany, not just about four protestors.” (The Intercept)
YOU CAN’T DEPORT A MOVEMENT – STOP ALL DEPORTATIONS! DEFEND THE #BERLIN4!
We stand by all our comrades threatened with deportation in Germany!
Let’s show them that they can’t deport a movement.
Be loud.
Be early.
Bring friends.
Bring pots, pans and noise makers!
YOU CAN’T DEPORT A MOVEMENT – STOP ALL DEPORTATIONS! DEFEND THE #BERLIN4!
RALLY THIS MONDAY, 7TH APRIL 8:00 AM – NOON. BE LOUD. BE MANY.
Dismantling of Basic Rights: Unite to Stop the Deportation of four Palestine Activists
Translation of article by Palestinian activist Ramsis Kilani
Berlin’s state government plans to deport four activists because of their solidarity with Palestine. This attack on basic rights can only be repelled by a resolute campaign which is politically as broad as possible.
The four activists Cooper, Roberta, Shane und Kasia have been threatened with deportation from Germany because of their commitment to human rights for Palestinians. Secretary of State Christian Oestmann (SPD) from the Berliner State government applied pressure to the migration authorities after they raised possible legal problems.
Two of those affected are Irish, one is a Polish EU citizen, one from the USA. They have been living for years in Germany, some for decades. None of them has been found guilty of a criminal offence. The grounds for their deportation is based on their expression of political opinions, which — according to the authorities — constitute a violation of Staatsräson [reason of state], the ruling ideology of the German government.
This breach of the constitution is part of a row of further restrictions on human rights used to fight Palestine solidarity. These include the anti-BDS resolution of 2019, the first bans on Palestine demonstrations from April 2022, and the wave of state repression and dismantling of basic rights since 7 October 2023, which have led to the Bundestag resolution for political ex-matriculations and deportations.
The outrage in the German media, such as Der Spiegel, about deportation plans in the USA ignores the tip of the iceberg — years of repression in Germany to prevent a broadening of the isolated Palestine-solidarity movement. German authorities did not need to learn attacks on democratic basic rights and freedom of opinion from Trump.
Open solidarity with those threatened with deportation is coming from different directions. Examples include the Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Middle East, but also from the working group “Palestine Solidarity” in the party Die LINKE, as well as the national working group “Class Struggle” from Linksjugend Solid.
A successful resistance against this political persecution as a gateway for further restrictions on basic rights requires the participation of initiatives for migrant rights, and for the fight against the Right and the AfD Nazis. Only a politically broad movement against deportations, state repression and political repression can prevent the dismantling of basic rights.
Statement by Polish organisation Constellation of Liberation
Four activists — including one with Polish citizenship — have been issued with a deportation order as a result of their engagement in the Palestine solidarity movement and protesting Germany’s complicity in the genocide.
None of the activists have a criminal record. The reasons cited were ‘antisemitism’ and support for ‘terrorist organisations’. None have gone through a fair trial to challenge these charges. The LEA (Berlin’s immigration office) initially rejected the deportation orders, but relented under the pressure of the Ministry of Interior. They are being used by the German state authorities as a warning sign towards all those active in the Palestinian liberation struggle in Germany. The message is: ‘it could be you next’. This unprecedented scare tactic, however, is having tangible and horrific consequences on the lives of four people engaged in the movement.
We condemn the decision of the Ministry of Interior and the LEA, demand a fair trial for the activists and the lifting of the deportation orders. This is especially in light of these orders violating two basic rights: the right to protest and freedom of movement for EU citizens, which affects three of the four activists facing deportation.
We stand in solidarity with all four activists facing these charges, condemn the actions of German state authorities in this and all cases of deportation, and stand with all those suffering under Germany’s violent immigration policies.
