The event “Reclaiming the Discourse: Palestine, Justice, and Truth” featuring UN Rapporteur Francesca Albanese as well as Julia Duchrow, General Secretary of Amnesty International, Riad Othman from Medico International, and Jewish artists Eyal Weizman and Michael Barenboim, is under immediate threat of police violence, after having already been forced to move to Junge Welt, Torstraße 6, 10119 Berlin.

DiEM25 and MERA25 stand with all who resist authoritarianism and fight for justice. The organisers of this crucial event – dedicated to Palestine, justice, and truth – face an intolerable assault on their rights to free speech, assembly, and expression. As champions of democracy and human dignity, we call on you to stand with us.

Our call goes especially to DIE LINKE, which has previously shown a mixed stance on Palestine – officially supporting an end to arms deliveries to Israel while also fielding candidates that cheer on the IDF. Klaus Lederer of the Berlin section of Die Linke even signed an open call to ban the Palestine Congress, which DiEM25 / MERA25 helped organise. 

Die Linke, if you are too afraid to support a Congress for Palestinians and Jews to discuss the future of the Middle East, will you at least support the right of the UN and Amnesty International to talk about this in Berlin? Resist the authoritarian drift, condemn police violence, support the organisers and demand justice.

Die Linke, we urge you to join us – DiEM25 and MERA25 – in defending freedom of speech and holding power to account.

The shameful pressure exerted by the German government, politicians and Berlin police to force Kühlhaus Berlin to cancel the event is a blatant attack on democratic values. They also already threatened to send an overwhelming police force to attend the event to watch every word. This coercion, reminiscent of darker times, seeks to intimidate and silence dissent.

We thank Junge Welt for offering a platform when others bowed to pressure. The event will now take place at Torstraße 6, 10119 Berlin, with a livestream exclusively on DiEM25’s YouTube channel due to limited capacity.

Francesca Albanese has already faced two cancellations at the hands of German authorities. Now, they escalate their censorship, echoing the repression witnessed at the Palestine Congress 2024.

We foresee police interference against those who speak out on Gaza and German complicity. As defenders of constitutional rights and human dignity, we demand that you stand with us, report the truth, and safeguard democracy.

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