Police ban on Palestinian Congress illegal: German court

An administrative court in Berlin ruled Wednesday that a police ban on a three-day Palestinian Congress on April 12, 2024, was unlawful.

The judges argued that the ban was disproportionate under any circumstances.

The exclusion of individual speakers or participants could have been a conceivable alternative, explained presiding judge Marlen Mausch-Liotta.

The ruling said an appeal could be filed with the Berlin Higher Administrative Court.

The Palestinian Congress, which was intended to address Germany's complicity in Israel's war on the Gaza Strip, was called off by police less than two hours after it began.

One of the main speakers was Palestinian surgeon Salman Abu Sitta, the rector of Glasgow University, who was denied entry into Germany.

Police also banned Sitta from addressing the Palestinian Congress via video.

The Berlin administrative court ruled in July that the political activity ban imposed on Sitte was unlawful, with the Berlin Higher Administrative Court later upholding that ruling.