Berlin authorities want to deport four foreign nationals residing legally in Germany who, according to the police, were involved in "violent" pro-Palestinian protests in Berlin.

Three of those involved are European Union (EU) citizens — two from Ireland, one from Poland — and the fourth person is a US citizen. The news platform The Intercept was the first to report on the deportation plans.

All four received notifications from the Berlin state immigration office in mid-March terminating their residency status in Germany. The Berlin Senate Department for Internal Affairs confirmed this to DW, saying that the decisions were "in connection with the incidents at the Freie Universität [FU] Berlin on October 17, 2024."

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The Berlin Senate Administration alleges that on that day a group of masked people "violently" entered a university building, which "resulted in significant damage to property inside the building, including graffiti relating to the 'Israel-Palestine complex,' as well as other criminal acts." The slogans "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" and "Free Gaza" and the red triangle symbol were painted on the walls. While the red triangle symbol has other historical uses in Germany, and is used in various ways relating to Palestinian and Arab history, the Interior Ministry considers it in the context of Israel and the Palestinian territories to be a symbol of Hamas, which is recognized as a terrorist organization by the German government.

In order to expel the three EU citizens in question, they were deprived of their EU right to freedom of movement, which normally allows them to stay in Germany.

This was confirmed to DW by lawyer Alexander Gorski.

"These orders were issued based on the several criminal charges against our........

© Deutsche Welle