Statement by the Coordination Team for MERA25 and DiEM25 in Germany

The Berlin Senate is attempting to deport four international residents, three of whom are European citizens — Cooper Longbottom, Kasia Wlaszczyk, Shane O’Brien, and Roberta Murray — for their participation in pro-Palestine protests. None of them have been convicted of a crime. The accusations against them are flimsy, vague, and largely unsubstantiated — yet they are being targeted by the German state in a blatant act of political repression.

We name this for what it is: a fascist, authoritarian attack on fundamental democratic rights — orchestrated by Berlin’s Senator for the Interior, Iris Spranger (SPD), and enforced through the Senate Department for the Interior and Sport, with the complicity of the State Office for Immigration under Engelhard Mazanke.

Internal documents now made public reveal that these deportation orders are politically motivated and were pushed through despite legal objections from within Berlin’s own immigration office. Even the head of the State Office for Immigration, Engelhard Mazanke, and his colleague Silke Buhlmann raised alarm: there were no criminal convictions, no real threat to public order, and no legal grounds to revoke EU citizens’ freedom of movement. But their concerns were overruled by Christian Oestmann of the Senate Department for the Interior, under the leadership of Senator Iris Spranger (SPD), citing so-called public order and Staatsräson — Germany’s state doctrine of support for Israel.

Let us be clear: Staatsräson is not a legal category. It is a political slogan now being used to undermine constitutional rights and target dissenters. This doctrine is being used to justify deportations and criminalisation of anyone who refuses to remain silent in the face of genocide.

These institutions are consistently weaponizing migration law to silence political dissent — a tactic ripped directly from the far-right playbook. That three of the four targeted individuals are EU citizens who enjoy freedom of movement under EU law makes this even more outrageous. That all four are migrants, queer, and deeply involved in social justice work in Berlin is no coincidence. They are being scapegoated for their solidarity with the Palestinian people.

These expulsions are not isolated. They are part of a broader crackdown on the Palestine solidarity movement and on migrant-led activism in Germany.

We say: No to the criminalisation of solidarity. No to racist deportations. No to authoritarian overreach. No to fascism. 

We demand the immediate cancellation of all deportation orders against Cooper Longbottom, Kasia Wlaszczyk, Shane O’Brien, and Roberta Murray. We demand accountability from those who are pushing forward with these unlawful, unconstitutional and politically motivated attacks. And we stand firmly in solidarity with the targeted comrades — and with all who resist imperialism, genocide, and state repression.

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