Former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis is suing the German state after it placed an entry ban on him, his party MeRA25 announced on Thursday.
Germany’s interior ministry issued a ban against Varoufakis in April because he was set to speak at a controversial “Palestine Congress” event in Berlin.
German authorities labeled the gathering, which was organized by the Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 (DiEM25), a pan-European political movement and political party founded in 2016 by Varoufakis and others, as “anti-Semitic,” banning others alongside Varoufakis who were set to take part.
Yes, I am taking the German state to court. Primarily to defend the right of German citizens to know who accuses them, when, and under what rationale – information that the German state has scandalously denied me on the grounds of… 'national security'! https://t.co/JpY9npcwNo
— Yanis Varoufakis (@yanisvaroufakis) May 9, 2024
Varoufakis sues Germany for infringement of basic rights
In a statement on Thursday, the MeRA25 party said Varoufakis is now suing the “German authorities in the German courts and reserves the right to appeal to the European ones, for infringement of basic rights and defamation.”
“The unprecedented decision of the German authorities in April earlier this year to ban Yanis Varoufakis from entering the country, as well as from any kind of political activity, was only the beginning. It was followed by outrageous violations of every principle of the Rule of Law – an ominous development in the face of a Europe that is sliding inexorably towards totalitarianism,” the statement noted.
While Varoufakis was banned from attending the conference, he was still able to upload a recording online. In this video, he makes no mention of the rapes of Israeli women, the murder of Israeli children, or the terrible plight of the hostages of whom 134 are still being held captive by Hamas.
Instead, he accuses Israel of “80 years of…ethnic cleansing” and refers to what happened on October 7th as a legitimate act of resistance to an “apartheid state.” He also denies that Hamas started the current war or that Israel is engaged in an existential struggle for its survival.
Several other speakers were banned
Several other speakers set to appear at the Palestine Congress event were denied entry to Germany, including British-Palestinian surgeon Ghassan Abu Sitta and his uncle, Palestinian researcher Salman Abu Sitta.
When Salman Abu Sitta attempted to give his speech remotely, police cut the power supply to the conference venue and ordered the approximately 250 people in attendance to disband.
The event, which was supposed to last three days, was shut down in a matter of hours on the orders of Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner. The authorities said they feared that attendees would make anti-Semitic remarks and glorify violence.
Related: Wolfgang Schaeuble’s Memoir Delves Into the Greek Debt Crisis
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