Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah, Globally-Recognized Plastic Surgeon and Rector of University of Glasgow, Scheduled to Speak at Berlin Conference
(April 12, 2024, New York): Germany's deportation of Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah, a leading war surgeon who recently served in Gaza and was elected as Rector of the University of Glasgow this month, is a shocking affront to free speech in Germany, said DAWN today. Dr. Abu-Sittah had arrived in Berlin today to deliver a speech at the Palaestina Kongress conference in Berlin about the atrocities he witnessed in Gaza.
"Germany's deportation of Dr. Abu-Sittah is a naked act of authoritarian censorship, more in line with the policies of dictatorships like Saudi Arabia and China than a rights-respecting democracy," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Executive Director of DAWN. "In its persistent efforts to defend Israel from criticism and support its genocidal policies in Gaza, Germany is sliding into authoritarianism and depriving its own citizens of free speech and information."
Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah is a British citizen of Palestinian origin who practices in London and previously headed the American University of Beirut Hospital's Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Aesthetic Surgery, where he founded the Conflict Medicine Program –The Global Health Institute at the American University of Beirut. Dr. Abu-Sittah has served as a surgeon for Medicin sans Frontiers in numerous conflict zones around the world, including in Gaza, Yemen, and Iraq. He spent months in Gaza treating war wounded following Israel's assault on the territory and has extensively documented the atrocities he witnessed there, including Israel's repeated attacks on hospitals and medical staff. Dr. Abu-Sittah was elected as Rector of the University of Glasgow this month.
Dr. Abu-Sittah traveled to Berlin to deliver remarks at a Palaestina Kongress conference and arrived in Berlin today. At the airport, German border security forces detained him for three hours and told him they would not allow him to enter the country while the conference is taking place. As of this writing, Dr. Abu-Sittah is awaiting his forced deportation back to London.
On March 1, Nicaragua filed a case at the International Court of Justice accusing Germany of aiding and abetting Israel's genocidal policies in Gaza in violation of the Genocide Convention by providing political, financial and military support for Israel as its military campaign continues in Gaza, and by suspending funding to the main UN humanitarian agency in Gaza, UNRWA. The court is also hearing a case brought by South Africa against Israel for genocide, and has found that Israel's actions are plausibly genocidal. Israel has failed to comply with the court's orders to end its killing and injuries of Palestinians and to allow aid to enter unhindered into the territory.
"This is an attempt by Germany to silence witnesses and intimidate people like me who have provided evidence to the ICJ and ICC," Dr. Abu Sitta told DAWN. "Germany has attempted to stop me from providing evidence to a conference about my experience as a doctor in Gaza, highlighting the attacks on Al-Ahli hospital, but their heavy-handed efforts will only bring more attention to Israeli crimes."
Germany has imposed onerous restrictions to prevent public protests and speech against Israel's atrocities in Gaza, banning protests. German authorities have punished and withdrawn funding from universities and cultural institutions that have shared information and cultural events about Israel's occupation and apartheid, as well as the ongoing war in Gaza, and attempted to shut down organizations seeking to defend Palestinian rights. While governments are entitled to refuse entry to visitors, ejecting a person purely to censor him from speaking is a blatant violation of the rights of Germans to freely receive information.
"Germany's crackdown on academics, scholars, and artists who voice their opinions on the Gaza conflict is appalling," said Prof. Omar Dewachi, a DAWN Fellow and professor at Rutgers University. "It signals the country's role in suppressing dissent against the atrocities in Gaza and threatens to stifle Germany's intellectual and artistic vitality for years to come."
DAWN has extended an invitation to Dr. Abu Sittah to attend the organization's annual gala on October 2, 2024 in Washington, DC where DAWN plans to honor his achievements and present him with the organization's highest honor, the DAWN Integrity Award.
