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GERMANY IS REPORTEDLY seeking to deport two Irish citizens for taking part in pro-Palestine protests in Berlin.
Four foreign residents are reported to have been hit with deportation orders, including two Irish citizens – Roberta Murray (31) and Shane O’Brien (29).
Solidarity demonstrations will take place tomorrow in Berlin and Munich in response to the deportation orders.
One organiser, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they view the actions of the German state as “unprecedented”.
In a statement to The Journal, a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs said the Department is “aware of reports and stands ready to provide consular assistance”.
And speaking to The Journal, Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan said that the “decision by the State of Berlin to deport two Irish citizens for engaging in solidarity with Palestine is a blatant breach of the European Convention on Human Rights and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU”.
“Germany is bound by both of these documents and it is clear that they are not respecting their obligations. The four individuals have not been convicted of any crimes and their right to a presumption of innocence is also being violated,” said Boylan.
She added that the move is part of a “worrying trend of criminalisation of solidarity with Palestine – both in Europe and in the US”.
“Criminalising solidarity serves the interests of the Israeli Government as they continue their genocidal campaign in Gaza,” said Boylan.
“Not only are world leaders happy to stand in silent complicity, they now wish to silence those citizens brave enough to speak up for human rights and international law.”
Boylan said she will be writing to the European Commission on the matter as it “directly as it speaks to a much wider issue we are seeing across Europe regarding the repression of Palestinian solidarity”.
The incident has been reported in The Intercept and +972 Magazine, which was founded by four Israeli writers who are opposed to the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, and in partnership with The Intercept.
It’s reported that the deportation orders are set to take effect in less than a month, despite none of the four people impacted having been convicted of a crime.
Speaking to +972 Magazine, Thomas Oberhäuser, a lawyer and chair of the executive committee on migration law at the German Bar Association, explained that under German migration law, authorities don’t need a criminal conviction to issue a deportation order.
However, he stated that the reasons for the deportation order must be proportional to the severity of deportation, meaning issues like whether someone will be separated from their family or lose their business come into play.
“The key question is: How severe is the threat and how proportionate the response?” Oberhäuser, who is not involved in the case, told +972 Magazine.
“If someone is being expelled simply for their political beliefs, that’s a massive overreach.”
Each of the four face separate allegations which are tied to pro-Palestine protests in Berlin.
The only event that ties the four cases together is the allegation that they participated in the late-2024 occupation of a building at the Free University Berlin.
The +972 Magazine reports that none of the four are accused of any particular acts of vandalism at the university, but rather the deportation order cites the suspicion that they took part in a coordinated group action.
It is further reported that all four are accused, without evidence, of supporting Hamas.
In interviews with The Intercept, Murray, who has been in Berlin for three years, said she doesn’t believe the order “will hold up in court”.
“My life is here,” Murray said.
“I’m not making any plans for Ireland. I believe that we will win — and that we’ll stay. I don’t believe this will hold up in a court.”
Meanwhile, O’Brien said that his “illusion of Berlin has been shattered by the lack of response to the genocide”.
Israel has been accused of genocide in a case brought to the International Court of Justice by South Africa.
The ICJ issued provisional measures against Israel after finding there are reasonable grounds to believe Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza, where close to 47,000 people have been killed since October 2023.
-With additional reporting from Eoghan Dalton
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