The authoritarian measures of the German government brought back memories of a dark period in the country’s history. It leads us to ask: Will the ban of political activity for Yanis Varoufakis that the Berlin police announced with the backing of the German Ministry of the Interior prevail? Will Yanis Varoufakis be free to travel to Germany to campaign for MERA25 in the European election campaign starting today?

If not, this would be an unprecedented case of authoritarian election interference. We demand an immediate lift of the ban and an end to attacks on freedom of expression. In Germany and beyond, people have the right to condemn genocide and war crimes, regardless of who is perpetrating them and to stand with those who uphold human rights, freedom and equality among all people, including Palestinians.

If campaigning for equal rights for everyone is a position not allowed to be voiced in Germany, then democracy is dead. The police crackdown on the Palestine Congress, which DiEM25 co-organised with Jewish Voice for Peace and many others, has already proven to be one of the nails in the coffin of freedom of expression in Germany.

The decision to ban Yanis from all political activity in Germany is a farce. It shows the drastic lengths Germany will go to in order to silence anybody who speaks out against the oppression of the Palestinians by the Israeli government or criticises the bloody war of revenge that has been going on for months, as well as the complicity of the German government.

Whatever happens, rest assured that we will not be intimidated. We will continue our struggle for peace, dignity and freedom in Israel-Palestine, Germany, Greece and everywhere, whether it is in the European election campaign with MERA25 that is starting now or well beyond that.

Do you want to be informed of DiEM25's actions? Sign up here