Berlin court pauses deportation of pro-Palestine activist pending conviction

A Berlin Administrative Court has paused the deportation of Irish-citizen Shane O’Brien pending conviction on the charge of ‘Insult’ in a ruling issued on Friday.

O’Brien and three other pro-Palestine activists were handed deportation notices in early March requiring them to leave the State of Berlin, and in the case of non-EU citizen Connor Longbottom, it would ban him from entering all 29 Schengen countries for two years.

Excluding Longbottom, who is American, the others are all EU citizens. EU citizens usually have the right to remain in other EU countries without the need for visas under the EU’s Freedom of Movement, which can only be revoked under certain circumstances. As a result, O’Brien sued for the right to remain in Berlin; the court ruling now means he may remain in Berlin while the case is being decided. Similar rulings are expected for the other two EU citizens.

All four activists were given the notice for the actions during the occupation of the Free University of Berlin‘s Praesidium building on October 17, 2024, during which, according to the Berlin State Criminal Police Office, 40 activists broke into the building armed with axes, saws, crowbars, and clubs, while attempting to drag employees out of the building.

A weak case

The Legal Online Tribune, a German jurisprudential magazine, noted that had O’Brien and the other EU citizens been convicted under Section 125a of the German Criminal Code, which criminalizes breaches of the peace, the state would have had a stronger case for upholding the deportations.

However, the Tribune added that even in that case, they would face serious challenges to the deportation as the barrier for the deportation of EU citizens remains very high. Deportations of EU citizens requires an assessment of whether the person constitutes a “real and sufficiently serious threat” that “affects a fundamental interest of society.”

The court also refrained from ruling on the permissibility of the slogan ” From the river to the sea,” commonly used at pro-Palestine protests. 

Alexander Gorski, a member of the legal team, echoed similar sentiments. 

“Without a criminal conviction, the withdrawal of freedom of movement is not legal,” he said.

Ferat Kocak, who represents Berlin-NeuKoelln for Die Linke, welcomed the ruling, telling Taz, “This case must first be decided in court.”

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