Solidarity with María, expelled from Germany for her work with Kurdish Freedom Movement

Women Defend Rojava issued a statement in solidarity with internationalist María V. The woman was forced to leave Germany because of her political activism in solidarity with the Kurdish. The statement said: “We are sad and angry that María had to leave the country. But right now it is important that we create publicity for this case and together ensure that we organize our grief and anger. Because an attack on one is an attack on all of us. We will not allow the German state to try by all means to muzzle politically active women and other oppressed genders. María we are by your side – Jin Jiyan Azadî!”

Women Defend Rojava also published the declaration of the Grupo Internacional, the support group of friends and comrades in solidarity with María and the Kurdish freedom movement.

The statement said: “In October 2021, our Spanish comrade and friend María received a notification from the Magdeburg immigration office by three civil officers from the Halle police station. According to the letter, she was asked to leave the country within 30 days. In addition, she was banned from entering and staying in Germany for the next 20 years. This measure is justified by the fact that María represents a threat to the security of the Federal Republic of Germany. Furthermore, she was accused of staying in the FRG for too long and not demonstrating that she had a job or the means to stay in Germany.”

What is María accused of?

María is accused of using her stay and life in Germany exclusively to take part in political activities in connection with the Kurdish freedom movement in the FRG or to organize activities to this end.

The statement underlined that “in general, all Kurds living here in Germany are placed under general suspicion of “terrorism” due to the PKK ban. We are currently seeing this also in the attempts to criminalize the initiative “Abolish Ban”, which advocates decriminalization of the PKK and the lifting of the PKK ban. The fact that it hits an internationalist this time represents another attack on solidarity with the Kurdish freedom movement.”