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Ghassan Abu Sittah accuses Germany of 'genocide complicity' after being refused entry

Ghassan Abu Sittah, a British-Palestinian surgeon who spent weeks in Gaza treating victims of the war with Israel, has accused Germany of being an "accomplice to genocide" after he was refused entry to take part in a conference, which was later shut down by hundreds of German police officers.

Speaking exclusively to Middle East Eye upon his return to London on Friday, Abu Sittah described the circumstances of his deportation.

"This morning, at 10 o'clock, I landed in Berlin to attend a conference on Palestine, where I had been asked, along with many others ... to give my evidence of the 43 days that I had seen in the hospitals in Gaza, working in both al-Shifa and al-Ahli hospitals," he said. 

Abu Sittah said he was escorted from the passport office to the basement of the airport, where he was questioned for three-and-a-half hours. 

"At the end of three-and-a-half hours, I was told that I would not be allowed to enter German soil and that this ban will last the whole of April," he said. 

Read more: Ghassan Abu Sittah accuses Germany of 'genocide complicity' after being refused entry

Ghassan Abu Sittah
British-Palestinian surgeon Ghassan Abu Sittah at an emergency protest in London on 12 April 2024 (MEE/Mohammad Saleh)