After being blocked from entering France over the weekend and the Netherlands later this month, Human Rights Watch has requested the German government to provide a public explanation for its Schengen-wide ban on Palestinian-British surgeon, Ghassan Abu Sitta. 

On Friday, Yasmine Ahmed, UK Director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), said, "Germany should immediately explain why it has denied him entry and imposed this far-reaching ban on a leading health professional to speak in Berlin, Paris, and The Hague about what he witnessed in Gaza."

Abu Sitta revealed his intention to challenge his entry ban in the German courts and perhaps the European Court of Human Rights.

This comes after the Palestinian ambassador invited the surgeon to attend an event in The Hague on the 76th anniversary of Nakba Day on May 15, but the surgeon revealed to HRW that Dutch officials notified the ambassador of the ban. 

Read next: Slow death, no anesthesia; Abu Sitta recalls horrors he saw in Gaza

Still, he was told he would be permitted entry for a meeting with the Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to brief the Director General on the use of white phosphorus by Israeli forces. The catch is that he would be allowed to enter only if he were to leave immediately after.

#Palestine #GazaWar pic.twitter.com/XkyxOmzMm3

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) May 5, 2024

Plain complicity in plain sight

On April 24, the HRW asked Germany for clarification on how the ban is in line with the country’s obligations to freedom of expression, assembly, and non-discrimination, while also calling on the British and Scottish governments to pressure Germany.

Ahmed added, “In the midst of ongoing atrocities in Gaza, countries should be prioritizing ending complicity and promoting accountability,” noting that “instead, Germany, in blocking Dr. Abu Sitta from sharing his experience, is trying to block citizens from even hearing about the grave abuses taking place in Gaza. The UK government should immediately raise the reported ban with their German counterparts.”

Last week, the Palastina Kongress (Palestine Conference), which was held in April in Berlin, Germany, demanded on Saturday the end of the genocide in Gaza and Europe's complicity and collaboration with the Israeli occupation.

On its Instagram page, the Conference denounced Ghassan Abu Sitta's entry ban to Paris and the one-year Europe ban imposed by Germany, accusing the latter of knowing "no bounds in its systematic silencing of Palestinian and pro-Palestinian voices."

Abu Sitta detailed to Al Mayadeen his experience in France's Charles De Gaulle International Airport, where French authorities stopped and turned him back on Saturday. 

Fortress Europe silencing the witnesses to the genocide while Israel kills them in prison.

— Ghassan Abu Sitta (@GhassanAbuSitt1) May 4, 2024

Dr. Abu Sitta flew to France to speak at the French Senate at the invitation of the Ecologists Party [The Greens], however, he was stopped and interrogated after arriving at Charles De Gaulle airport, only to be later put on a flight back home. French authorities told Abu Sitta that he was barred from entering EU member states after German authorities banned him from the Schengen Area. 

Read more: UN expert slams Germany over EU entry ban on Dr. Ghassan Abu Sitta

The surgeon volunteered with Doctors Without Borders in the Gaza Strip.

He told Al Mayadeen that the main reason why French authorities denied him entry to the country was to deny him access to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. The doctor was also scheduled to speak to authorities in the ICC, which is reportedly exploring issuing arrest warrants for Israeli war criminals, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.