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Government officials say university protesters supporting Palestinian should be deported from Germany. German authorities say the country's historical responsibility toward the Jewish people in the state of Israel are part of the rationale. NPR's Fatima Al-Kassab reports.
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UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: (Non-English language spoken).
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Non-English language spoken).
FATIMA AL-KASSAB, BYLINE: Police dragging protesters from a pro-Palestinian encampment at Berlin's Free University last May.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Speaking German).
AL-KASSAB: In Germany, authorities at the highest level have taken notice of these protests.
COOPER LONGBOTTOM: My name's Cooper. I'm 27. I moved to Berlin in September of 2023.
AL-KASSAB: Cooper Longbottom came from Seattle to do a master's in social work. When we spoke on the phone, Longbottom described getting involved in pro-Palestinian protests in the city shortly after the war in Gaza began.
LONGBOTTOM: I joined demonstrations, as well as started organizing on campus to demand specific things of the university, like an academic boycott of Israeli institutions.
AL-KASSAB: Then in January this year, Longbottom received a letter from the Berlin immigration authorities.
LONGBOTTOM: The letter that I received essentially said that they intended to deport me.
AL-KASSAB: Longbottom is one of four demonstrators - two from Ireland, one from Poland - who have been told they are to be deported from Germany over accusations of antisemitism and support for terrorism over alleged actions at protests against Israel's war in Gaza. In an email to NPR, Berlin's Immigration Office confirmed it had revoked the residence permit of four, what it called, pro-Palestinian activists. It said this was, quote, "in connection with a pro-Palestinian protest where masked individuals entered a university building and caused property damage, including graffiti." It added that criminal proceedings are still ongoing, but did not say what the individuals were being charged with and said it would not comment further for privacy reasons. Defense lawyer Alexander Gorski says they haven't been told what they're being charged with.
ALEXANDER GORSKI: They have no criminal convictions. As criminal defense lawyers, we haven't even seen the files yet, so we don't even know what exactly our individual clients are accused of.
AL-KASSAB: Roberta Murray got the same letter back in January.
ROBERTA MURRAY: I was actually out doing shopping and I was in the middle of a supermarket when I opened my email.
AL-KASSAB: Murray is a 31-year-old artist from Ireland who works at a cafe in Berlin and has lived there for years.
MURRAY: And then in March, we received a very long document outlining why we're being deported and telling us that we're such a threat to the German society that we have to leave the country by April 21.
AL-KASSAB: NPR has seen the letter which says, if you do not voluntarily leave the country by April 21, you are hereby threatened with deportation to Ireland. Longbottom, the American student, risks losing a visa. But for the Irish demonstrators who are European citizens, the right to reside anywhere in the European Union is enshrined in EU law as a founding principle. But while the letter cites EU law and alleges they are deportable because they pose a significant threat to security, Gorski says that hasn't been proven yet.
GORSKI: Normally, that is only achieved if you have higher prison sentences. In this case, none of the four have ever been criminally convicted of a crime.
AL-KASSAB: The letter sent to Murray, one of the Irish citizens, says, quote, "the right of Israel to exist, its protection and the integrity of the state of Israel are matters of German state policy" and that at no time should there be any doubt that opposing movements within Germany will be tolerated in any way. Lawyer Gorski says he's never seen the idea used to justify deportation before. Ireland's prime minister has said he will raise the issue of the two Irish nationals with the German authorities. The American student, Cooper Longbottom, says no one from the Trump administration has been in contact yet.
Fatima Al-Kassab, NPR News, London.
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