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Four pro-Palestine protesters say they are facing deportation from Germany due to alleged sympathies with Hamas, in a move they compared to Donald Trump’s crackdown on student dissent in the US.
Shane O’Brien, Roberta Murray, Kasia Wlaszczyk and Cooper Longbottom – who come from Ireland, Poland and the US – are vowing to fight deportation orders issued by the city of Berlin. They describe themselves as activists with no criminal record who have protested against Germany’s support for Israel.
They said the deportation papers accuse them of anti-Semitism and supporting “terrorist organisations”, namely Hamas, as well as its “front organisations in Germany and Europe”. Germany banned Hamas activities in the country and shut down an alleged front called Samidoun, after the militants staged their 2023 offensive in southern Israel.
German media said the case is linked to unrest at Berlin’s Free University in October. The university reported about 40 masked protesters attempting to occupy a building in what it called a “violent attack” on the campus.
Activists have frequently complained of a stifling of pro-Palestinian dissent in Germany, one of Israel’s closest allies. Successive governments in Berlin have described Israel’s security as a paramount interest of the German state arising from the Holocaust.
According to the four activists, this “reason of state” was mentioned in the Berlin deportation papers. They said the orders were an example of Germany “weaponising migration law” against Palestinians and their supporters. EU citizens generally enjoy freedom of movement within the bloc but German and European law allows for restrictions on the grounds of public order or security.
“Germany’s revocation of one student visa and three EU citizens’ right to move within the EU is an unprecedented escalation, with dire implications,” the four activists said. “This parallels the Trump administration using deportation as a method of repression against US residents exercising their right to freedom of speech.
“Our deportation is a political act – an attempt to intimidate an entire movement. By stripping us of our freedom of movement, Germany intensifies its repression of pro-Palestinian voices, disproportionately targeting Palestinian, Muslim and Arab communities.”
Under Mr Trump’s crackdown at least 300 visas have been revoked and former Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil was arrested over his involvement in student protests. Pro-Israel groups have provided officials with the names of hundreds of people they accuse of “raging against America” and supporting terrorist groups.
A new government taking shape in Berlin looks set to solidify Germany’s pro-Israel stance. Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz and his Christian Democrats, who won the election on February 23, proposed in their manifesto that recognising Israel’s right to exist should become a condition of German citizenship.
