Former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis is suing the German state after it placed an entry ban on him, his party MeRA25 announced on Thursday.
Germany’s interior ministry issued a “Betätigungsverbot” or ban, against Varoufakis in April because he was set to speak at a controversial “Palestine Congress” event in Berlin.
German authorities labelled the gathering which was organised by the Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 (DiEM25) – a pan-European political movement and political party founded in 2016 by Varoufakis and others – as “anti-Semitic,” banning others alongside Varoufakis who were set to take part.
In a statement on Thursday, the MeRA25 party said Varoufakis is now suing the “German authorities in the German courts and reserves the right to appeal to the European ones, for infringement of basic rights and defamation.”
“The unprecedented decision of the German authorities in April earlier this year to ban Yanis Varoufakis from entering the country, as well as from any kind of political activity, was only the beginning. It was followed by outrageous violations of every principle of the Rule of Law – an ominous development in the face of a Europe that is sliding inexorably towards totalitarianism,” the statement noted.
In Germany, a staunch ally of Israel, the war on Gaza has stirred growing opposition as the Palestinian death toll nears 35,000.
Source: AA.
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