- Bavaria's High Court of Justice bans pro-Palestine slogans at Munich demonstration
The Bavarian Administrative Court of Appeal has deemed a ban on the slogan "From the river to the sea" ("From the river to the sea"), often used at pro-Palestinian demonstrations, likely lawful. The court dismissed an urgent application challenging the ban imposed by the city of Munich for a demonstration scheduled to take place on Munich's Karlplatz (Stachus) on August 10, 2024, and leading up to the Siegestor.
The organizer of the demo had announced placards bearing the slogan "From the river to the sea [...]". The state capital subsequently banned the use of this slogan in German or any other language in any form on August 6, 2024, as it would otherwise create an obvious link to Hamas.
The state capital justified this by stating that the organizer had known connections to a movement that positively supported the Islamic Hamas and the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Therefore, a socially acceptable use of the slogan could not be guaranteed.
After the Munich Administrative Court had already rejected the urgent application with a decision of August 8, the Administrative Court of Appeal also followed this line. The state capital had been able to provide concrete evidence that the organizer was affiliated with a pro-Palestinian movement that had a concrete link to Hamas.
Therefore, it is justified to assume that there is a concrete danger of a prohibited use of the slogan at the demonstration scheduled for August 10, 2024. The ban on the slogan at the demonstration is therefore likely lawful. The decision of the Administrative Court of Appeal is final.
The Commission reviewed the case of the banned pro-Palestinian slogan and upheld the decision made by the Administrative Court of Appeal. The Commission agreed that the state capital had sufficient reasons to link the organizer's movement to Hamas, justifying the ban on the slogan.
