Update

BDS victory in German court: City of Oldenburg must host Israeli Apartheid Week event

The Court instructed the City of Oldenburg to provide the requested rooms, and BDS Oldenburg was able to hold Israeli Apartheid Week events in a public space.

This March, the BDS movement celebrated another important victory in a German court. The Higher Administrative Court of Lower Saxony overturned the verdict of the lower court and ruled that the City of Oldenburg must to provide its halls for 2019 Israeli Apartheid Week events of BDS Oldenburg.
 
The City, which had already been convicted in 2018 for violating the freedom of expression and assembly by canceling a contract with BDS Oldenburg, had refused once again to grant the requested space.
 
On 28 March, the Higher Administrative Court issued its final judgment. The Court explained that: 1) Since the charge of antisemitism represents a very serious allegation, the burden of proof lies with the party making the accusation; and, 2) the Court’s examination had not produced any evidence that the plaintiff – or the BDS initative - had violated the principles of Germany’s liberal-democratic order.
 
Consequently, the Court instructed the City of Oldenburg to provide the requested rooms, and BDS Oldenburg was able to hold Israeli Apartheid Week events in a public space. The City was also forced to cover the plaintiff’s legal costs for both proceedings.
 
BDS Oldenburg was represented by the Berlin-based law firm Abed. The European Legal Support Center contributed to the appeal.


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