Berlin’s immigration authorities have ordered four foreign residents to leave the country or risk deportation over their involvement in a university sit-in against Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.

Authorities have claimed the quartet — two from Ireland, one from Poland and one from the US — constitute a threat to public safety and should therefore leave Germany as soon as possible, according to a lawyer representing two of them.

They have been told to leave Germany by 21 April or face deportation.

Criminal and immigration lawyer Alexander Gorski said his clients had ongoing criminal proceedings for minor charges, such as trespassing, insulting police and resisting arrest related to their attendance at multiple pro-Gaza protests.

The four all participated in a pro-Palestinian protest at Berlin’s Free University in October 2024.

Berlin’s Department for Interior and Sport, which has responsibility over immigration, requested that local authorities terminate their residency in the middle of their proceedings.

Gorski said the decision was made despite hesitation from Berlin’s immigration office, which expressed concern that removing EU citizens would not be lawful. The Department for Interior and Sport ultimately overruled those objections.

Gorski said his legal team was unaware of what the activists had been charged with. “We haven’t received the file,” Gorski said.

The Department for Interior and Sport confirmed that it told the activists their residency permits were terminated, linking the decision to the university protest.

Back in October, a “violent and masked” group of people entered the university building, causing “significant property damage” including drawing graffiti related to the Israel-Hamas war as well as other crimes, the department said.

It added that criminal proceedings were currently ongoing and declined to provide further information, citing data protection laws.

A spokesperson for the German Federal Interior Ministry said on Wednesday that it did not have “comprehensive information” on the individual cases, confirming that Berlin authorities are responsible for and ultimately decide on each case.

It is unclear exactly what the four protesters were accused of doing during the protest, which was considered controversial.

The Free University in the immediate aftermath condemned the incident as a “violent attack” in which 40 masked individuals attempted to take over a campus building, “threatening employees verbally, and resorting to physical violence.” The university claimed IT equipment had been destroyed, rooms were wrecked and a Hamas symbol was spray-painted onto a wall.

The university’s general students’ committee said in October that the university had failed to “capture the complexity of events.” The committee alleges that the police presence on-site was “excessive” and that the law enforcement responded violently to the protesters in the broader context of suppressing similar demonstrations.

The Free University did not immediately respond to Euronews’ request for comment.

EU citizens’ deportation ‘highly unusual’

According to The Intercept, which first reported the story, only one of the two Irish nationals was brought before a court for calling a police officer a “fascist,” but was ultimately acquitted.

The four face separate allegations, the outlet reported, including shouting slogans such as “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” — a chant that has been banned, but German courts have so far delivered mixed rulings on its use.

The activists have accused Germany of “weaponising migration law” and rejected allegations supporting terrorist organisations and antisemitism as arbitrary.

The four have launched an appeal as well as a measure of interim relief in order to avoid imminent deportation, according to Gorski.

Gorski says it is “highly, highly unusual” that three EU citizens would be threatened with deportation from another member state without any criminal convictions.

Authorities said their decision was based on provisions which allow foreign nationals to be deported if they represent a threat to society.

The Department for Interior and Sport said a criminal conviction is not a prerequisite for deportation, although it would “be taken into account” when assessing the decision.

Freedom of movement within the European Union is a “a fundamental right of EU citizens”, a European Commission spokesperson said on Tuesday in response to a question on the activist’s case.

They declined to comment further on the matter, which the spokesperson said falls under the jurisdiction of internal security, which is for Germany to decide on.

In Ireland, the potential deportation of two Irish citizens has caused a stir, with the country’s Taoiseach Micheál Martin saying the issue was of “fundamental concern in terms of the freedom of movement rights that EU citizens have.”

The incident reflected a “completely different approach” to the Israel-Hamas war between Germany and Ireland, the leader said, adding he would be raising the issue with German authorities.

The Irish Foreign Office confirmed it was aware of reports of two of its citizens and was ready to provide consular assistance.

Euronews has reached out to the Polish and US embassies in Berlin for comment.