Wednesday, August 7
“From the river to the sea”: Berlin court convicts activist over chant
For the first time, a Berlin court has ruled to impose a criminal charge and fine someone for using the phrase “From the river to the sea – Palestine will be free” during a protest. The Tiergarten District Court has imposed a fine of €600 on a 22 year-old activist for using the slogan at a protest in Neukölln which took place on October 11, 2023. In making her decision, the presiding judge emphasised that she was taking into account the proximity of the protest to the events of October 7, stating that she thought the slogan “denied Israel’s right to exist” and, in this context, “approved” of the massacre.
The defence argued that the focus of the protest in Neukölln was, in fact, the video that emerged from Ernst-Abbe-Gymnasium of a teacher physically striking a student after they waved a Palestinian flag. The defendant, an organising member of the women’s organisation “Zora” stated her belief that the slogan was in fact directed against “oppression” and stood for “freedom, equality and justice”.
This is the first time a criminal sentence has been imposed in Berlin for use of “From the river to the sea”, but the slogan has already come under much legal scrutiny. Germany’s Federal Ministry of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) issued an order at the start of November which attributed the slogan to Hamas, stating that its use would count as employing the symbol of a terrorist organisation. But German courts have not always agreed. Both in Mannheim and Munich legal rulings have declared the phrase should not automatically constitute a criminal act.
The verdict in this Berlin case is not yet final – and the defence is thought likely to appeal.
