Germany’s travel ban on Palestinian surgeon ‘unlawful’, court rules


BERLIN

Germany’s travel ban on renowned British-Palestinian surgeon Ghassan Abu-Sittah was found unlawful by an administrative court, local media reported on Wednesday.

The administrative court in Potsdam has reviewed the appeal submitted by Abu-Sittah’s lawyers, and concluded that the Schengen-wide travel ban imposed by German authorities was not legally justified, Suddeutsche Zeitung reported.

In its ruling, the court underlined that authorities must provide legal justification while imposing an entry ban, and provide evidence that the person concerned may commit a “serious crime” if he or she is allowed to enter the country. The judges also pointed out that an initial suspicion of “propaganda crimes” as alleged by the German police was not sufficient to justify an entry ban.

Abu-Sittah, who currently serves as the rector of the University of Glasgow in Scotland, was invited to a conference in Berlin last month to talk about his experiences in Gaza during the Israeli bombardment, but was blocked from entering the country.

Earlier this month, Abu-Sittah was also denied entry to France. Upon arrival in Paris, where he was supposed to speak at a symposium in the Senate, he was informed that Germany had imposed a Schengen-wide travel ban on him for one year.

• Ghassan Abu-Sittah