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Press Release

Anti-Palestinian Surveillance in Germany: New Hearing in the Case of Dr Anna Younes

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 settler-/colonial theories. Like many others she has already been subjected to several disinformation campaigns, publicly defamed, censored and unfairly excluded from public and academic spaces way before 2019. In 2019, however, Dr Younes discovered that a secret dossier which selectively draws on certain publications of hers and takes them out of context, was written up and distributed  by RIAS/MBR  in order to get her disinvited from public speaking engagements. Said dossier had been privately passed on to people in die Linke and distorted her work or articles to make defamatory statements about her, including by framing her as an anti-Jewish racist and sexist terrorist sympathizer. Subsequently, Dr Younes was disinvited from a panel discussion on right-wing extremism and anti-Muslim racism organised by the Berlin chapter of Die Linke where she was supposed to present her work on anti-Muslim racism and right-wing networks in Germany.

In violation of European data protection law, Dr Younes was surveilled for her scholarship and activism, causing her loss of employment, reputational damage, as well as an uncanny repetition of surveillance strategies as known from German history. Dr. Younes, the ELSC and her lawyers argue that the creation and circulation of RIAS’ secret dossier – without Dr. Younes’ knowledge or consent – gravely infringed upon her right to privacy, freedom of expression, and academic freedom and amounts to digital surveillance. More importantly, her case does not stand in isolation; it rather unmasks the multiple layers of systematic repression that have been silencing and criminalising Palestinian voices in Germany for a long time. Beyond that, this case is also crucial as it testifies to the importance of halting further infringements on the right to privacy and to free political expression of political minorities, such as anti-war and anti-capitalist movements or climate activists.

Concerned about the consequences of this repressive surveillance for herself and other academics, activists or journalists, Dr Younes reached out to the ELSC and took legal action

Nearly two years ago, 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 Dr Anna Younes access to the data that the two organisations had secretly gathered and disseminated. The information released by VDK revealed that RIAS Berlin and MBR had been collecting people’s personal data based on their ‘positions on Israel and BDS’. 

Dr Younes and her lawyer now expect the court to order RIAS/MBR to pay damages for the harm suffered by Dr Younes for more than two years. Not only should RIAS/MBR pay damages for having violated Dr Younes’ right to information, as confirmed by the first instance court, but also for the unlawful collection and dissemination of a dossier aiming to damage her reputation.

Dr Younes’ lawyer, Alexander Gorski, said: 

This legal battle is about making sure that state-funded organisations such as RIAS Berlin and MBR are held accountable for their repressive practices which have extreme consequences for individuals’ reputation and fundamental rights and freedoms. This must stop.

In March 2024, RIAS (the federal organisation whereof RIAS Berlin forms the local Berlin branch) released their report on ‘Anti-Semitism within BDS’, which enacts yet another targeted attack against the BDS movement and its supporters. Furthermore, RIAS also continues to use unfounded allegations of antisemitism and support of terrorism to further repress Palestine solidarity as well as turning the important category of anti-Jewish racism to mean nothing but “critical of Israeli politics” thereby enabling a dangerous and deeply racist hollowing out of what we mean by anti-Jewish racism. Finally, within that vein, RIAS also confirms its use of the harmful and widely criticized ‘IHRA definition of antisemitism’ to assess incidents of antisemitism.

It is obvious that organisations like RIAS are instrumentalizing the fight against anti-Jewish racism to platform a discourse aimed at repressing and erasing Palestinian voices and anti- or de-colonial narratives, especially at a moment when a wide range of individuals and groups in German civil society are raising their voice against the ongoing genocide and against Germany’s support of Israel’s settler violence. – said Dr Younes.

The decision from the judge is expected within a few weeks.

Read more about the case


Antipalästinensische Überwachung in Deutschland: neue Anhörung im Fall von Dr. Anna Younes

Heute, am 12. April 2024, klagt Dr. Anna-E. Younes mit Unterstützung der ELSC gegen die antipalästinensischen Organisationen RIAS Berlin und MBR (Mobile Beratungsstelle gegen Rechts) vor dem Landgericht Berlin.

Dr. Anna Younes ist eine deutsch-palästinensische Wissenschaftlerin, die sich mit dem “Neuen Antisemitismus”-Diskurs, rassenkritischen Theorien und Siedler-/Kolonialtheorien beschäftigt. Wie viele andere war sie bereits vor 2019 mehreren Desinformationskampagnen ausgesetzt, wurde öffentlich diffamiert, zensiert und zu Unrecht aus dem öffentlichen und akademischen Raum ausgeschlossen. Im Jahr 2019 entdeckte Dr. Younes jedoch, dass ein geheimes Dossier, das sich selektiv auf bestimmte Veröffentlichungen von ihr stützt und diese aus dem Zusammenhang reißt, vom RIAS/MBR erstellt und verbreitet wurde, um sie von öffentlichen Auftritten auszuladen. Dieses Dossier wurde privat an Personen in der Partei Die Linke weitergegeben und verfälschte ihre Arbeit oder Artikel, um diffamierende Aussagen über sie zu machen, unter anderem indem sie als antijüdische, rassistische und sexistische Terroristensympathisantin dargestellt wurde. In der Folge wurde Dr. Younes von einer Podiumsdiskussion über Rechtsextremismus und antimuslimischen Rassismus ausgeladen, die von der Berliner Sektion der Partei Die Linke organisiert wurde und auf der sie ihre Arbeit über antimuslimischen Rassismus und rechte Netzwerke in Deutschland vorstellen sollte.

Unter Verstoß gegen das europäische Datenschutzrecht wurde Dr. Younes wegen ihrer wissenschaftlichen Arbeit und ihres Engagements überwacht, was zum Verlust ihres Arbeitsplatzes und zur Schädigung ihres Rufes führte und eine unheimliche Wiederholung der aus der deutschen Geschichte bekannten Überwachungsstrategien darstellt. Der Fall, den Dr. Younes, die ELSC und ihre Anwälte aufgebaut haben, argumentiert, dass die Erstellung und Verbreitung des geheimen Dossiers des RIAS – ohne Dr. Younes’ Wissen oder Zustimmung – ihr Recht auf Privatsphäre, freie Meinungsäußerung und akademische Freiheit schwerwiegend verletzt hat und einer digitalen Überwachung gleichkommt. Noch wichtiger ist, dass ihr Fall nicht isoliert dasteht, sondern vielmehr die vielen Ebenen der systematischen Unterdrückung aufdeckt, die palästinensische Stimmen in Deutschland seit langem zum Schweigen bringen und kriminalisieren. Darüber hinaus ist dieser Fall auch deshalb so entscheidend, weil er zeigt, wie wichtig es ist, weitere Verstöße gegen das Recht auf Privatsphäre und freie politische Meinungsäußerung von politischen Minderheiten wie Antikriegs- und antikapitalistischen Bewegungen oder Klimaaktivisten zu unterbinden.

Besorgt über die Folgen dieser repressiven Überwachung für sie selbst und andere Akademiker, Aktivisten oder Journalisten wandte sich Dr. Younes an die ELSC und erhob rechtliche Schritte

Vor fast zwei Jahren gab das Landgericht Berlin den Klagen von Dr. Younes statt und ordnete an, dass der VdK – die deutsche staatlich finanzierte Organisation, die RIAS Berlin und MBR rechtlich vertritt – Dr. Anna Younes Zugang zu den Daten gewährt, die die beiden Organisationen heimlich gesammelt und verbreitet hatten. Die von der VdK herausgegebenen Informationen enthüllten, dass RIAS Berlin und MBR personenbezogene Daten von Personen auf der Grundlage ihrer “Positionen zu Israel und BDS” gesammelt hatten. 

Dr. Younes und ihr Anwalt erwarten nun, dass das Gericht den RIAS/MBR zur Zahlung von Schadenersatz für den Schaden verurteilt, den Dr. Younes mehr als zwei Jahre lang erlitten hat. Der RIAS/MBR sollte nicht nur Schadensersatz dafür zahlen, dass das Recht von Dr. Younes auf Information verletzt wurde, wie das erstinstanzliche Gericht bestätigt hat, sondern auch für die unrechtmäßige Sammlung und Verbreitung eines Dossiers, das darauf abzielt, ihren Ruf zu schädigen.

Dr. Younes’ Anwalt, Alexander Gorski, sagte: 

In diesem Rechtsstreit geht es darum, sicherzustellen, dass staatlich finanzierte Organisationen wie RIAS Berlin und MBR für ihre repressiven Praktiken zur Rechenschaft gezogen werden, die extreme Auswirkungen auf den Ruf und die Grundrechte und -freiheiten des Einzelnen haben. Das muss aufhören.

Im März 2024 veröffentlichte RIAS (die Bundesorganisation, deren Ortsgruppe in Berlin RIAS Berlin ist) ihren Bericht über “Antisemitismus in BDS”, der einen weiteren gezielten Angriff auf die BDS-Bewegung und ihre UnterstützerInnen darstellt. Darüber hinaus nutzt RIAS weiterhin unbegründete Vorwürfe des Antisemitismus und der Unterstützung des Terrorismus, um die Solidarität mit Palästina weiter zu unterdrücken und die wichtige Kategorie des antijüdischen Rassismus auf nichts anderes als “kritisch gegenüber israelischer Politik” zu reduzieren, wodurch eine gefährliche und zutiefst rassistische Auslöschung dessen ermöglicht wird, was wir unter antijüdischem Rassismus verstehen. Schließlich bestätigt RIAS in diesem Zusammenhang auch die Verwendung der schädlichen und weithin kritisierten “IHRA-Definition von Antisemitismus”, um Vorfälle von Antisemitismus zu bewerten.

Es ist offensichtlich, dass Organisationen wie RIAS den Kampf gegen antijüdischen Rassismus instrumentalisieren, um einem Diskurs eine Plattform zu bieten, der darauf abzielt, palästinensische Stimmen und anti- oder de-koloniale Narrative zu unterdrücken und auszulöschen, insbesondere zu einem Zeitpunkt, an dem ein breites Spektrum von Einzelpersonen und Gruppen in der deutschen Zivilgesellschaft ihre Stimme gegen den anhaltenden Völkermord und gegen Deutschlands Unterstützung der israelischen Siedlergewalt erhebt

– so Dr. Younes.

Die Entscheidung des Richters wird in den nächsten Wochen erwartet.

Categories
Newsletter

ELSC Newsletter: September 2022

Throughout the past few months, the solidarity movement has won several victories in pushing back against repression. Through legal challenge and public advocacy, it is possible to make our critical voices heard!
 
We need your continued support to keep up the crucial fight for freedom of expression and Palestinian rights.

And don’t forget to sign up to our newsletter!

GERMANY: TWO SUCCESSFUL LAWSUITS AGAINST DEUTSCHE WELLE

In July 2022, we witnessed the first victory for a journalist involved in the Deutsche Welle (DW) case that began back in February 2022, when the public broadcaster fired seven Arab journalists based on allegations of antisemitism. The Bonn Labour Court found that the dismissal of Palestinian journalist Maram Salem by the German outlet was unlawful

Then, in September 2022, the Berlin Labour Court ruled in favour of Farah Maraqa, ordering DW to reinstate her and cover the costs of the legal dispute.

The ELSC is proud to have supported Farah Maraqa, who stood firm in her convictions and had the courage to take DW to court.

📣 Share the good news on Twitter and Instagram! 📣

However, the DW management seems to have institutionalised its prejudiced stance in a new Code of Conduct that mentions Israel twice, including: “Due to Germany’s history, we have a special obligation towards Israel.” It is unclear what obligations this statement is implying for DW employees or subcontractors. This raises important questions related to press independence.


⚖️ Will you help us win more cases? ⚖️


NETHERLANDS: A POSITIVE PRESS COUNCIL DECISION FOR PALESTINIAN RIGHTS ADVOCATES

In August 2022, the Dutch Press Council ruled that Dutch daily newspaper Algemeen Dagblad acted carelessly by publishing allegations of antisemitism against The Rights Forum without hearing them.

This is an important achievement considering the Dutch NGO has been facing a harsh smear campaign since the beginning of the year, after it filed a Freedom of Information Request (FOI) seeking to research ties between Dutch universities and pro-Israel advocacy groups as well as Israeli institutions, government agencies and Israeli arms, surveillance and security companies.

The Rights Forum also achieved a significant victory against disinformation. After the organisation alerted Google about a Google ad sponsored by the Israeli government labelling Amnesty International as antisemitic, Google took down the ad within one day.


DOCUMENTA FIFTEEN: “WE ARE DETERMINED, WE ARE TOGETHER, WE ARE NOT GIVING UP”

On 25 September 2022, the world’s largest contemporary art exhibition, documenta fifteen, closed after months of brutal and unfounded allegations against the curators ruangrupa, members of the artistic team and participating artists. Palestinian artists and others who expressed solidarity with them faced smears, insults, assaults, death threats, cyber harassment and vandalism.

In the latest development, a committee appointed to investigate antisemitism into documenta fifteen issued a very controversial preliminary report and a statement accusing the lumbung community (ruangrupa and artists) of Israel-related antisemitism. The community responded with a powerful statement denouncing racism, Eurocentrism and censorship.

📣 Share and express your solidarity on Twitter and Instagram📣


VIENNA: NEW COURSE AT VIENNA FINE ARTS ACADEMY SIGNALS FURTHER ERASURE OF PALESTINIAN NARRATIVE

The Austrian institution that censored Palestinian academic Dr. Walaa Alqaisiyia will host a course entitled “Antiantianti – Conflicts about Antiantisemitism and Antiracism in the Politicized Art World” and will be using Walaa’s disinvitation as a case study.

The abstract of the course clearly displays a pro-Israel bias and misrepresents the Palestine solidarity movement. We condemn the holding of a course that is likely to fuel insidious censorship of genuine anti-racist discourse.

📣 Share on TwitterInstagram and Facebook📣


#STOPTRADEWITHSETTLEMENTS: A NEW PARTNER IN THE GLOBAL CAMPAIGN TO BAN EU TRADE WITH ILLEGAL SETTLEMENTS

Avaaz just joined the #StopTradeWithSettlements coalition and calls on everyone to sign the European Citizens’ Initiative to ban EU trade with illegal settlements!

📣 Share the campaign on TwitterInstagram and Facebook📣

Friends of the Earth Europe also published a compelling and important blog post over the summer. The largest grassroots environmental network in Europe explains the link between food sovereignty in Palestine and Israeli settlements, highlighting the necessity to stop all EU trade with the latter.


#STANDWITHTHE6: A NEW PHASE OF REPRESSION AGAINST PALESTINIAN CIVIL SOCIETY

On the morning of 18 August 2022, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) raided the offices of seven Palestinian organisations including the six that were designated as “terrorist” by the Israeli government in October 2021. The IOF confiscated documents and equipment, destroyed material, sealed entrance doors and left military orders ordering the closure of the organisations. Over 150 organisations, including the ELSC, demanded the international community take all the necessary action to support and protect Palestinian human rights defenders.

So far, the EU has remained quiescent on the matter, as it has regarding the protection of French-Palestinian human rights defender Salah Hammouri.  For the past two decades, Salah has been subjected to constant harassment and deprivation of his fundamental rights by Israeli authorities. His three-month administrative detention based on “secret evidence” was again renewed at the beginning of September 2022 and he has now been transferred into solitary confinement. Along with other political prisoners, Salah began a hunger strike on 25 September and has since been deprived of salt. Read more in the urgent letter sent to French President Emmanuel Macron by Salah’s lawyers.

📣 Join the #JusticeforSalah campaign and amplify it on Twitter and Instagram  📣

Undeterred by these worrying recent developments which contradict the basic principles of international law, the EU continues to tighten its cooperation with Israel by convening the EU-Israel Association Council after 10 years amid widespread protest from PalestinianEuropean, and international civil society organisations.


RESOURCES & NEWS FROM AROUND EUROPE AND BEYOND

#PromisedLand: the Italian centre for investigative journalism Irpi Media launched a series of reports exposing the links between the Israeli government and far-right parties in Europe. The first piece of “Promised Land”, authored by journalists Christian Elia and Lorenzo Bagnoli, shows how the Italian far-right cultivates relationships with antisemitic figures while strongly supporting Israel’s policies, including silencing pro-Palestine voices.

📣 Amplify on Twitter 📣


Our Canadian partners, Independent Jewish Voices (IJV), are launching a pivotal report on the suppression of speech concerning Palestine in Canada. Join the report launch event with a panel of brilliant activists and scholars, including Anna-Esther Younes.

📣 Share on Twitter and Instagram  📣

Dr Anna-Esther Younes has herself been facing ongoing attempts to suppress her voice as a Palestinian decolonial scholar. Read more about her case and how you can help us push back against increasing repression in Europe below:


The ELSC recently joined CASE, the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe! We are happy to join other non-governmental organisations united in recognition of the threat posed to public watchdogs by SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation). SLAPPs are an abuse of the legal system and an attempt to intimidate and silence public watchdogs, including Palestinian rights advocates, through lengthy and expensive litigation that drains a target’s resources and seeks to dissuade critical voices.

With CASE, we will work to expose legal harassment and intimidation, protect the rights of those who speak out and advocate for comprehensive protective measures and reform. As part of this work, the ELSC will join the next European Anti-SLAPP Conference in Strasbourg on 20 October 2022.


Remember to follow the ELSC on social media @elsclegal and amplify our work!

If you are interested in empowering the Palestine solidarity movement in Europe, we welcome your one-time or monthly donations to the ELSC. For any inquiries, contact us at info@elsc.support.

If you are a legal practitioner or a volunteer who wants to be part of our movement in support of Palestinian rights advocates, please contact us at info@elsc.support.

Photo: CC Jan-Hendrik Pelz12, “An Inner Place” talk at the documenta fifteen exhibition.

Categories
Newsletter

ELSC Newsletter: June 2022

This month, at least three cases confirmed, again, that public pressure and collective support, sometimes coupled with litigation, constitute a great tool to achieve our rights as advocates for Palestinian rights!

GERMAN AUTHORITY HOLDS RIAS AND MBR ACCOUNTABLE FOR VIOLATING ANNA YOUNES’ DATA RIGHTS

The Berlin Data Protection Authority (DPA) held German organisations RIAS Berlin and MBR accountable for violating the rights of German Palestinian scholar Dr. Anna-Esther Younes. The two organisations had previously circulated a secret dossier which led to her disinvitation from a public event.

Two years after Dr. Anna Younes filed a complaint to the DPA with our support, the DPA finally found that RIAS/MBR violated European data protection law (GDPR) in refusing to give Dr. Younes access to the data they hold on her. The DPA recognised Dr. Younes’ basic data rights as a European citizen, which comes after another previous success where the civil court affirmed the right of Dr.Younes to have access to her data.

READ MORE

Share this new victory on social media: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn

But this is not over yet! RIAS/MBR previously acknowledged that the purpose of the dossier was to identify Dr. Younes’ positions on Israel and BDS. They secretly sent this dossier to a third party to get her disinvited. However, the DPA considered that this was lawful and that RIAS/MBR pursued a legitimate purpose in collecting and transmitting information about Dr. Younes.

We will appeal this decision. Do you want to help us?

DONATE

Read more in the last media articles published about the case:
– See an update by Dania Akkad in Middle East Eye
this piece by Hebh Jamal in +972 Magazine
a piece in German by Nidal Thawri in Marx21
– an oped by Abir Kopty in Middle East Eye


EU RESUMES FUNDING TO TWO PALESTINIAN NGOS

After Palestinian human rights organisation Al-Haq started legal proceedings against the European Commission for suspending its funding in May 2021 based on an Israeli disinformation campaign, the EU recognised there were no grounds to do so and resumed its funding to Al Haq on 28 June 2022.

Read Al-Haq’s statement and share the good news on Twitter.

The EU also resumed unconditionally and with immediate effect its funding to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), which had faced the same suspension as Al-Haq.

READ MORE


MOHAMMED EL KURD V. GOETHE INSTITUTE

The prominent Palestinian activist and poet Mohammed El Kurd faced an attempt of censorship at a conference organised by the Goethe Institute in Hamburg about right-wing extremism and authoritarian regimes’ tactics, where he was invited to speak. Few days before the start of the conference, the institution revoked the invitation, raising social media posts criticizing Israel that they “did not find acceptable”. In solidarity with El Kurd, the curators of the conference Moshtari Hilal and Sinthujan Varatharajah withdrew their participation and denounced the climate of anti-Palestinian racism in German institutions. Thanks to this push back, many other participants of the event withdrew, which led to the entire program being scaled down.

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OTHER CASE UPDATES IN GERMANY

We also celebrate a victory in Stuttgart this month, as the City of Stuttgart decided it will not appeal the decision issued by the Stuttgart Administrative Court on 21 April 2022 in favour of the Stuttgart Palestine Committee. The Court had upheld the Committee’s complaint against the City’s decision to remove their access and details from the Municipality’s website.
 
This incident had happened following a smear campaign launched by the Jerusalem Post against the Committee because of its support to the Palestinian-led BDS movement. The City of Stuttgart had justified its decision citing the Bundestag’s anti-BDS resolution, while the Court had recalled that the BDS movement is protected by freedom of expression and that the Bundestag’s resolution is not binding.

READ MORE

But this time, the City acknowledged the illegality of their decision. One of their spokespersons said:

for purely legal reasons, we have decided not to appeal against it. Based on the current jurisprudence, as it has been elsewhere, we estimate the chances of being successful with an appeal to be very low. That is why we have put the address of the Palestine Committee back on the municipal homepage.

Share this victory on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook


Palestinian-Jordanian journalist Farah Maraqa, who has been unfairly dismissed by German broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) along with five other Arab journalists in February 2022, published an update about her court case against DW.

READ MORE

SUPPORT HER CASE


AUSTRIA: THE CASE OF PALESTINIAN SCHOLAR WALAA ALQAISIYA

Dr. Walaa Alqaisiya, Research Fellow at Columbia University, the LSE Middle East Centre and Università Ca’ Foscari, also faced anti-Palestinian racism and censorship from Austrian public institutions when she was disinvited by the Mumok Museum and the Academy of Fine Arts of Vienna from their Spring Curatorial Program at the end of May 2022. The cancellation of her lecture followed a smear campaign on social media and a complaint from pro-Israel advocacy groups. Art media Art Forum and Hyperallergic wrote about the episode.


Hundreds of artists, writers and academics, including Judith Butler, Roger Waters, Angela Davis and Dirk Moses, have voiced their outrage in the wake of the last-minute cancellation, which pushed one of the co-curators to remove the remainder of the program from the premises of the cancelling institutions. Nevertheless, the Fine Arts Academy and the MUMOK still have not stepped back on their statement, nor recognised the damage done to Dr. Alqaisiya’s reputation. She is still waiting for a public apology from the Rector of the Fine Arts Academy and further explanation on the decision making process.


7 MORE MONTHS TO BAN EU TRADE WITH ILLEGAL SETTLEMENTS WORLDWIDE!

Join the European Citizens Initiative #StopSettlements to ban EU trade with illegal settlements!
 
With one million EU citizens signing the Initiative, the EU will have to reassess its complicity with illegal settlements. It would be an historical step in realigning the EU with its own rules when it comes to trade and in making Israel accountable for its illegal settlement policy.

SIGN

Send the petition to your friends, family members. Share on your chat groups and social media: Twitter, InstagramFacebook, and LinkedIn.


UK: LEGAL ACTION AGAINST TWITTER TROLL AFTER AN ONLINE SMEAR CAMPAIGN

Peter Bolton is a journalist with The Canary, where he writes about Israel-Palestine among other topics. One year ago, Peter Bolton published a piece denouncing the continuous smear campaigns and unfounded allegations of antisemitism made against the Left in the UK.

Following that, Peter Bolton became himself the target of similar unfounded allegations on Twitter. A fake Twitter account started to spread smears against the journalist, which were amplified by other accounts and retweeted many times. Peter Bolton decided to take legal action against the troll to make it accountable and deter others who would spread defaming allegations online against anyone standing for justice with Palestinians and Palestinian rights advocates.

SUPPORT HIS CASE


EVENTS: PANEL DISCUSSION IN THE NETHERLANDS

Last month, the ELSC joined the in-person panel organised in Amsterdam by the Leonhard-Woltjer Foundation (LWS) and Een Ander Joods Geluid (A Different Jewish Voice) on “How Israel lobbies make it harder to speak up against Israel’s policies”.

Our Advocacy and Communication Officer Alice Garcia joined Dina Zbeidy (anthropologist at Leiden University and LWS board member), Peter Beinart (professor of journalism and Editor-at-large of Jewish Currents), as well as Layla Kattermann and Itaï van de Wal (student activists in Leiden and Utrecht universities) in the panel to give an overview of the situation in The Netherlands (see from 45min).

Read our report on the attempt to suppress Palestinian rights advocacy in the Netherlands.


OTHER GOOD NEWS FROM EUROPE

In a milestone decision for accountability and Palestinian rights, Catalonia Parliament became the first Parliament in Europe to recognise that Israel is committing the crime of apartheid, after the approval of a resolution.

READ MORE

Categories
Press Release

Berlin Data Protection Authority Holds RIAS/MBR Accountable for Violating Dr. Younes’ Data Rights

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.

Nearly two years after Dr. Younes filed a complaint to the Berlin Data Protection Authority (DPA), the DPA issued a final decision on RIAS/MBR’s duty to provide access to her data. This decision follows a months-long public media campaign as well as a lawsuit brought against the DPA for its inactivity, both designed to expedite the legal process and obtain reparation for the damage inflicted on Dr. Younes. This decision also comes after a first victory for Dr. Younes in the beginning of May 2022, as a district court ruled in her favour and RIAS/MBR disclosed a part of the information they collected on her – namely, the dossier, which had been leaked to Dr. Younes. RIAS/MBR state in their answer to the DPA that they collected information on Dr. Younes in order to “identify her positions on Israel and BDS.

The DPA’s decision finally upheld Dr. Younes’ right to obtain access to the personal data collected by RIAS/MBR as ensured by European and German data protection law. In so doing, it rejected RIAS/MBR’s claims that the covert data gathering and sharing pursued journalistic and research purposes, which would have entitled the organisations to an exemption from providing this information.

Indeed, the DPA found that RIAS/MBR failed to follow a scientific methodology and limited itself to creating a “compilation of publicly accessible facts without deriving any new findings on them”. The DPA further rejected the invocation of a journalistic privilege, considering that the dossier was “explicitly not intended for publication and thus cannot represent an indirect contribution to the formation of public opinion”.

For these reasons, the DPA held that RIAS/MBR had violated article 15(1) of the GDPR on the right of access by the data subject. In this regard, Dr. Younes and the ELSC welcome the DPA’s decision.

Nonetheless, the DPA deemed that the framing of the data and its private transmission of the dossier to Die Linke was lawful, without explaining the grounds for said surveillance in the first place. Nor did this decision take into consideration Dr. Younes’ right to reputation, to not be misrepresented as having an “Antisemitic attitude”. 

After more than two years, it is a relief that the DPA held RIAS/MBR MBR accountable, whose conduct amounts to surveillance. We welcome the DPA’s decision that RIAS/MBR cannot legitimate their conduct on pretences of journalism or an ostensible scientific activity. Nevertheless, we deeply disagree with the DPA that RIAS/MBR’s preparation and transmission of the dossier was legitimate, as this resulted in significant damage to Dr. Younes’ professional and personal reputation and sends a clear message to all Palestinians in Germany. We will appeal the decision.

Giovanni Fassina, Director of the ELSC.

Read more about the case and watch this video

Donate to support the case

Read and sign the support letter

Listen to the podcast featuring Dr Younes, Inna Michaeli and Alice Garcia (Advocacy and Communications Manager at ELSC)

Visual: © ELSC. CC Watermelon Emoji Icon on IconScout