BERLIN: A Berlin court on Tuesday fined a woman €600 euros ($655) for using the phrase “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” at a protest, in a ruling slammed as a “dark day for freedom of expression” by her lawyer.

The 22-year-old, named only as Ava M, was found guilty of using the slogan at a banned gathering in Berlin’s Neukoelln district on October 11, according to a court spokeswoman.

The court concluded that the woman’s use of the phrase so soon after the October 7 raid in Israel meant it “could only be understood as a denial of Israel’s right to exist and an endorsement of the attack”, the spokeswoman said.

“From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” is seen by some as a call for the destruction of Israel, though others say it simply appeals to equality for Palestinians and Israelis.

The phrase was outlawed by German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser in November as part of a ban on the activities of Hamas.

But the ban is legally controversial, and courts in different parts of Germany have handed down different rulings on cases involving the phrase, with many finding it to be permissible.

Lawyer Alexander Gorski, who represented the woman in Berlin, said it was “a dark day for freedom of expression”.

“My client only wanted to express her hope for a future of democratic coexistence for all people in the region,” he said, adding that his client would appeal the decision.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2024