Case Update

Updates on legal cases ELSC is working on.

Case Update
Palestinian Symbols Banned at Holocaust Memorial Site Buchenwald, Germany
03/02/202603/23/2026
In a new legal case, the European Legal Support Center (ELSC) is defending an antifascist activist’s right to commemorate at Holocaust memorial site Buchenwald, after she was banned and threatened with a criminal complaint by the memorial’s administration for wearing a Kufiya. This case challenges the criminalisation of Palestinian symbols and the role of memorial and cultural institutions in the repression of Palestine solidarity.
ELSC Partner lawyer Roland Meister has filed a complaint at the Weimar Administrative Court (Verwaltungsgericht Weimar), against the Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora Memorials Foundation on behalf of antifascist activist Anna M. The complaint challenges a ban imposed on Anna M. from entering the memorial site, which violates fundamental democratic rights and freedoms guaranteed by the German Constitution, the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (CFREU).
Calls to Action | Case Update
ELSC Submits Objection Against Dutch Government’s Proposal to Ban Face Coverings at Demonstrations
02/17/202602/17/2026
The European Legal Support Center (ELSC) has submitted an objection to a bill from the Dutch government that aims to prohibit face coverings at demonstrations. If implemented, the law will endanger protestors mobilising against the Dutch government’s complicity in genocide and settler colonialism in Palestine. The ELSC encourages everyone, both residents and organisations in the Netherlands, to submit objections to this latest attempt to suppress dissent. This can be done via the public consultation portal until Sunday, 22 February 2026.
Case Update | Press Release
Political Ban on Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah’s Public Speaking and Political Speaking Deemed Unlawful by German Court.
07/16/202507/17/2025
A Berlin court ruled Germany’s political speaking ban on Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah unlawful. Backed by ELSC and ICJP, this marks a second legal win against misuse of migration law. The court affirmed Abu-Sittah’s freedom of expression, rejecting the state’s claim that his Gaza genocide comments threatened Germany’s democratic order. A key victory for civil liberties.
Case Update
University of Birmingham Misconduct Panel Dismisses All Allegations Against Students Following ELSC Intervention
06/06/202506/06/2025
The University of Birmingham dismissed all allegations against students Mariyah Ali and Antonia Listrat after a misconduct panel found no wrongdoing. The case, rooted in racialised and Islamophobic bias, highlights UK universities’ growing repression of Palestine solidarity. With ELSC’s support, the students prevailed—underscoring the power of protest and the urgent need for academic accountability.
Case Update
Victory in Court: Berlin Nakba demonstration restriction revoked after ELSC legal intervention
05/15/202507/17/2025
The Berlin court has overturned restrictions on this year’s Nakba demonstration, following an urgent appeal by the ELSC. The march will go ahead as planned, affirming the right to freedom of assembly amid ongoing efforts to silence Palestinian voices.
Case Update | Media Coverage
Exclusive: University of Birmingham Faces Legal Action Over ‘Punitive’ Crackdown on Students Protesting for Palestine
04/03/202504/14/2025
The European Legal Support Centre urges the University of Birmingham to drop disciplinary charges against Mariyah Ali and Antonia Listrat, student leaders targeted for protesting Israel’s actions in Gaza. Their case highlights a broader UK crackdown on Palestine solidarity, threatening freedom of expression, student democracy, and the right to protest.
Case Update | Press Release
High Court Grants Reduced Version of Cambridge University’s Draconian Injunction, Despite Threat to Protest Rights
03/24/202504/14/2025
On 21 March, the High Court rejected Cambridge University’s attempt to ban Palestine-related protests. While some restrictions remain, the ruling marks a key win for protest rights and freedom of expression on campus.
Case Update | Press Release
High Court rejects bid by the University of Cambridge for a long-term injunction on Palestine protests
03/03/202504/14/2025
The High Court has rejected the University of Cambridge’s bid to ban Palestine-related protests until 2030. This ruling affirms students’ right to protest, pushing back against the University’s attempts to suppress political expression and solidarity activism on campus.
Case Update | Press Release
Attempted criminalisation of the slogan ‘Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea’. Hearing at the Tiergarten District Court suspiciously postponed
02/20/202504/11/2025
On Monday, 27 January 2025, another case in the attempted criminalisation of the slogan ‘Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea’ should have been heard at the Tiergarten District Court. The Berlin public prosecutor had opened an investigation against filmmaker Dror Dayan for the use of symbols of unconstitutional and terrorist organisations (§ 86a StGB), pressing charges. The case concerns a…
Case Update
Additional Evidence Filed Against Booking.com for Profiting from Illegal Settlements
01/15/202504/14/2025
Civil society groups submit new evidence in their case against Booking.com, exposing its role in laundering profits from illegal Israeli settlements. The company’s expansion deepens displacement, violating international law. Urgent intervention is needed.
Case Update
BDS Austria against Municipality of Vienna recognised as Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation by Coalition Against SLAPPs In Europe
01/15/202504/06/2025
The Municipality of Vienna’s lawsuit against a BDS Austria activist has been classified as a SLAPP by CASE. This legal intimidation aims to silence advocacy for Palestinian rights. The case now heads to Austria’s Supreme Court.
Case Update
Supporting Palestinians’ Right to Resistance is protected under Free Speech: Dana Abu Qamar Wins Landmark Tribunal Victory to Overturn Home Office’s Visa Cancellation
10/31/202407/03/2025
LONDON, 30 October 2024: In a significant legal victory, Palestinian student Dana Abu Qamar has won her appeal at the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) against the Home Office’s attempt to cancel her student visa in December 2023. This decision comes after court documents showed that then-Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick personally intervened in the…
Case Update
Court Victory against corporate complicity in Germany’s authoritarianism
08/14/202408/14/2024
In June 2024 Berlin Appellate Court ruled that the freezing and cancellation of the association Jüdische Stimme für gerechten Frieden in Nahost – EJJP Deutschland e. V. / Jewish Voice for Just Peace in the Middle East – EJJP Deutschland e. V.‘s bank account by the partly state-owned bank Berliner Sparkasse was illegal. Jüdische Stimme…
Case Update
Moving against intransparency and deafening silence: further legal action against Germany’s war weapons deliveries to Israel
07/05/202407/05/2024
The Lawyers Collective (Anwält:innenkollektiv) supported by the European Legal Support Center (ELSC), Lawyers for Palestine, Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy (PIPD) and Forensis (Forensic Architecture Berlin) has paved the way for further legal action against Germany’s deliveries of war weapons to Israel.
Case Update
Dutch Human Rights Board: Firing of IT Specialist from Gaza who Condemned Israel’s Crimes was Discrimination
06/18/202404/14/2025
PRESS RELEASE – DUTCH BELOW Amsterdam, 18 June 2024 On June 11, 2024, the Human Rights Board, a state-sanctioned institution in the Netherlands that rules on discrimination cases, ruled that Dutch software company Speakap B.V. discriminated on the basis of political affiliation when it fired N.A. for posts on LinkedIn condemning Israel for committing genocide and…
Case Update
Erfolg für Palästina Aktivistin Yasemin Acar
05/24/202405/24/2024
ENGLISH BELOW Pressemitteilung – Berlin, 24. Mai 2024 Das Landgericht Berlin hat zugunsten Yasemin Acar gegen den Tagesspiegel entschieden. Das Gericht hat eine einstweilige Verfügung verhängt, welche die Tageszeitung mit Sitz in Berlin zwingt, gleich mehrere Falschbehauptungen über die Aktivistin zurückzunehmen und zukünftig zu unterlassen. Yasemin hatte mit Unterstützung der Rechtsanwältin Ingrid Yeboah und dem…
Case Update
VICTORY FOR DR GHASSAN ABU SITTAH: ELSC and ICJP overturn Schengen-wide travel ban
05/15/202405/15/2024
May 15, 2024 Berlin, Administrative court Potsdam slams German Federal Police: Schengen-Information-System entry for Prof. Dr Ghassan Abu Sittah has no legal basis and is to be revoked immediately after an emergency appeal by ELSC lawyer Alexander Gorski with support from lawyers from the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP). This effectively ends the…
Case Update
Anti-Palestinian Surveillance in Germany: New Hearing in the Case of Dr Anna Younes
04/11/202404/14/2025
GERMAN VERSION BELOW/DEUTSCHE ÜBERSETZUNG UNTEN Today 12 April 2024, Dr Anna-E. Younes is challenging anti-Palestinian organisations RIAS Berlin and MBR (Mobile Beratungsstelle gegen Rechts) in the Berlin District Court (Landgericht Berlin) with the support of the ELSC. Dr Anna Younes is a German Palestinian scholar working on the ‘New Antisemitism’ discourse, race critical theories and…
Case Update
VICTORY: “From the river to the sea” is protected speech, Dutch court rules!
10/18/202304/11/2025
At a time when expressions of support for the Palestinian cause are facing criminalisation at utterly unprecedented levels across Europe, we draw attention to the Dutch court ruling: “From the river to the sea” fully legitimate!
Case Update
Dr Anna Younes Surveillance’s Case: the Fight Continues with Two New Lawsuits
11/03/202211/16/2022
On 2 November 2022, exactly three years after she discovered RIAS’ covert surveillance of her activities and after two legal victories, Dr. Anna Younes launches two new lawsuits. She requests the Administrative Court of Berlin to find the preparation and transmission of the secret dossier on her unlawful, and she requests compensation.
Case Update | Press Release
Four UN Special Rapporteurs Address Their Concerns to Austrian Authorities About Anti-BDS Resolution and Lawsuit Against Activist
10/13/202210/18/2022
UN Special Rapporteur (SR) on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, SR on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, SR on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association and SR on the situation of human rights defenders sent a communication to Austrian authorities, asking clarification on the City of Vienna’s anti-BDS resolution and the lawsuit the City filed against a BDS activist.
Case Update | Media Coverage
New Course at Vienna Fine Arts Academy Signals Further Erasure of Palestinian Narrative
10/07/202204/14/2025
The ELSC expressly condemns the holding of a course that is likely to fuel insidious censorship of genuine anti-racist discourse.
Case Update | Press Release
Berlin Data Protection Authority Holds RIAS/MBR Accountable for Violating Dr. Younes’ Data Rights
06/22/202204/14/2025
On 16 May 2022, the Berlin Data Protection Authority (DPA) decided in favour of Dr. Anna Younes and issued a warning against VDK, representing RIAS Berlin and MBR. The two organisations had prepared a secret dossier on Dr. Younes, which aimed at identifying “her positions on Israel and BDS.” The dossier also framed her as supporter of terrorism, sexism and anti-Jewish racism and resulted in her disinvitation from a public event on anti-racism organised by Die Linke in November 2019. Furthermore, the DPA rejected RIAS/MBR’s claim and stated that they “did not have a serious scientific purpose” nor a journalistic one when preparing this dossier. After almost two years, the DPA finally found RIAS/MBR violated European data protection law (GDPR) and recognised Dr. Younes’ basic data rights as a German citizen. Further legal action will be taken.
Case Update | Press Release
German Court Rules in Favour of Scholar Dr. Anna Younes in Digital Surveillance Case
05/17/202203/21/2024
On 6 May 2022, the Berlin District Court upheld Dr. Younes’ claims and ordered VDK – the German state-funded organisation that legally represents RIAS Berlin and MBR – to give Anna Younes access to data that the two civil society organisations had gathered on her and passed on to others. The information released so far reveals that RIAS and MBR have been collecting people’s personal data based on their “positions on Israel and BDS.”
Case Update | Press Release
Viennese Court Endorses the City of Vienna’s SLAPP Against Palestinian Rights Advocate
04/12/202204/13/2022
In a highly contestable decision delivered on 6 April 2022 in the case between the City of Vienna and a member of BDS Austria, the Commercial Court of Vienna endorsed the City’s Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP), ruling against the BDS activists. The Austrian activists will appeal this decision.
Case Update
Ask the Mayor of Vienna to End Strategic Lawsuit Against Palestinian Rights Advocate
03/30/202204/13/2022
In November 2021, the City of Vienna filed a strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) against an activist to deliberately repress and intimidate BDS-Austria and Palestinian rights advocates. Such a tactic threatens democratic values and fundamental rights.
Case Update
Europeans Jews for a Just Peace (EJJP) support BDS Austria and urge the Mayor of Vienna to desist from its lawsuit
01/27/202203/11/2022
On 25 January 2022, Europeans Jews for a Just Peace (EJJP) sent a letter to the Mayor of Vienna, urging the Municipality to drop its lawsuit against a Palestinian rights advocate member of BDS Austria.
Case Update
German Court dismisses the complaint against the Bundestag’s anti-BDS resolution. The plaintiffs announce: “We will appeal!”
10/14/202110/18/2021
On October 7, 2021, the Administrative Court of Berlin held the first hearing on the complaint filed in 2020 by the Palestinian-Jewish-German initiative Bundestag 3 for Palestine (BT3P) that aimed at challenging the anti-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions resolution adopted by the Bundestag in 2019.
Activities & Events | Case Update
Berlin Administrative Court holds hearing for lawsuit of BT3P against German Bundestag
09/30/202110/04/2021
Since 2020, the ELSC has been supporting the BT3P team with lawyer Ahmed Abed to challenge the German Bundestag’s anti-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) resolution that condemns the movement as antisemitic. Next week, the Berlin Administrative Court will hold a hearing on the case. The Palestinian-Jewish-German initiative Bundestag 3 for Palestine (BT3P) filed their lawsuit…
Case Update
New Lawsuit against Denial of Public Space for Palestine-Related Event
03/03/202103/12/2021
In Germany, the campaigners Bundestag 3 for Palestine (BT3P) have initiated another strategic litigation. They are now challenging the city of Munich before the Administrative Court to be granted a public facility to host a panel discussion. The event is planned for 20 March to coincide with the Israeli Apartheid Week 2021. Judith Bernstein, Amir…
Case Update
German court ruled the denial of public spaces for BDS events is violating fundamental rights
12/08/202004/14/2025
Another German court ruled that the denial of public spaces for BDS related events is violating fundamental rights.
Case Update
Best Quotes of the Milestone Judgement for the Right to Boycott
06/12/202004/14/2025
Thursday 11 June 2020 marked a decisive victory for freedom of expression of Palestinian rights defenders in Europe. The European Court of Human Rights Court (ECtHR) rendered its judgement, unanimously ruling that the French highest court’s criminal conviction of BDS activists campaigning for a boycott of Israeli products violated their freedom of expression, protected by…

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