Statement of the Referent*innenRat regarding the occupation of the Emil-Fischer-Hörsaal on the 16th of April
On 16.04.25, student activists in solidarity with Palestine occupied the Emil Fischer lecture hall on Campus North. The reason for this was the planned deportation of student activists without prior criminal conviction.
Within a very short space of time, the Humboldt University Executive Board decided to have the occupied lecture hall evacuated by the police and gave them authority to enter the building.
The eviction by the police took place away from the press and the public. The few representatives of the press who were still present in the lecture hall at the time of the eviction were arrested right at the beginning. This not only represents a considerable encroachment on the freedom of the press, but also seems like a strategic move by the Berlin police to ensure that as few (critical) observers as possible were exposed to the further course of the eviction.
According to eyewitness reports, the eviction itself was characterised by police violence. Activists were deliberately isolated and attacked by the police. The possibility of being arrested voluntarily was regularly denied by the police. The peaceful solidarity rally in front of the lecture hall was also repeatedly attacked by the police and people were arrested, seemingly without cause. Demonstration paramedics were prevented by the police from treating injured people in the demonstration.
We condemn the violent actions of the Berlin police against our students and show solidarity with all victims of police violence. The eviction has left many of those present with traumatic experiences of violence and physical injuries. Once again, students were arrested, beaten and intimidated by the Berlin police on their university campus.
We also condemn the university executive board's decision to have the occupation cleared without entering into a dialogue with the occupiers beforehand. Opening the way for the police to arrest and beat up their own students without first getting a picture of the situation on site and ignoring offers of dialogue from the occupation from the outset is a clear decision against student protest at the university as soon as it becomes controversial or uncomfortable.
Regardless of the political aims of the occupation, which should at least be heard, there can never be any justification for police violence (on campus).
We recognise the protest against the planned deportations and thus against the undermining of constitutional principles as necessary, as an attempt to protect human rights in a world in which authoritarianism and fascism are on the rise.
We criticise the use of certain symbolism and condemn anti-Semitism and the trivialisation of it.
We show solidarity with our Jewish students, who have been exposed to increased threats from society and anti-Semitism in the last two years. We also show solidarity with our Palestinian students and their desire for recognition and their protest against the systematic murder of civilians in Gaza and the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. Anti-Palestinian racism also continues to be a major problem at our university and in public.
Both Jewish and Palestinian students should feel safe at this university. None of these goals will be achieved by playing on prejudices.
A university must offer spaces for dialogue in which the demands of the activists can be discussed without police repression. A university must also recognise student protest and fully engage with it. Even if that protest is uncomfortable.
Victims of racist police violence can contact KOP Berlin. We also offer anti-racism and anti-Semitism counselling as well as general legal advice for HU students as part of the free counselling services provided by the student social counselling system. The next (criminal law) counselling session will take place on 30 April from 5-7pm in the Hedwig-Dohm-Haus at Ziegelstraße 5. You can find more information about our counselling services here.