Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis was barred from entering Germany to attend a controversial pro-Palestinian conference in Berlin, as authorities feared some attendees would make anti-Semitic comments.
Several bans have been put in place to enter Germany, including one against Varoufakis, "to prevent any anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli propaganda during the event," German security authorities told AFP today.
Varoufakis, co-founder of the left-wing pan-European party Diem25, wrote on the social network Iks (X) on Saturday that the German interior ministry had instructed him to "ban all political activity" on its soil.
This also applies to participation in online events, the former minister added.
However, according to information from security circles, which was confirmed by the daily newspaper Handelsblat, we are talking about a ban on entering Germany.
The German police interrupted and then banned the mentioned conference on Friday less than an hour after it started, because one of the speakers was banned from political activity in Germany.
Police, who did not identify the speaker, said they had banned the continuation of the conference, which was scheduled to take place from Friday to Sunday.
The Gaza war has sparked controversy in Germany, where Berlin's strong support for Israel has faced criticism that pro-Palestinian voices have been marginalized.
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