Police pressure forces venue change for Francesca Albanese Berlin event: URGENT CALL to defend free speech

The event ‘Reclaiming the Discourse: Palestine, Justice, and Truth’ featuring UN Rapporteur Francesca Albanese is under immediate threat and has now moved to Junge Welt, Torstraße 6, 10119 Berlin

In a deeply concerning escalation, the organisers of ‘Reclaiming the Discourse: Palestine, Justice, and Truth’ – an event featuring UN Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese – are facing ruthless attacks on their fundamental rights to freedom of speech, assembly, and expression.

The venue, Kühlhaus Berlin, faced immense pressure from German politicians and the Berlin police to cancel the event. This is not only a disgrace but a direct assault on the rule of law and the core principles of democracy. It also represents an attack on businesses coerced into submission through mafia-like tactics, where intimidation has reached alarming extremes.

In this critical moment, Junge Welt has offered us refuge, and the event will now be held at Torstraße 6, 10119 Berlin. Due to limited capacity, with only 200 attendees allowed, the event will no longer feature an in-house livestream. Instead, the livestream will be available exclusively on our YouTube channel. Those with a livestream ticket are not able to enter the event, but instead can watch the broadcast. The change also means that there will be fewer available seats than originally planned, from 400 seats to 200.

German authorities, already responsible for canceling two events featuring Francesca Albanese, are now escalating their efforts to silence her voice even further. Now, Berlin authorities are ratcheting up their efforts to quash this crucial conversation, putting the organisers and panelists under extreme pressure and threatening disruption through overwhelming riot police presence, similar to the experience of the Palestine Congress 2024.

In light of this grave situation, we are urgently calling on media outlets, legal experts, and human rights organizations to step in as observers and monitor and report on the dismantling of the rule of law and fundamental rights.

We expect unlawful police interference against those who speak out against the genocide in Gaza and challenge German complicity. The right to free speech is under brutal siege, and as journalists, legal experts, and human rights organizations sworn to defend the constitution and fundamental rights, we demand that you fulfill your duty to report boldly and extensively on Germany’s complicity in the genocide in Gaza and its authoritarian slide.

The world must stand witness as we defend democracy and human rights in Germany.

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