doctor Ghassan Abu Sittah prevented from entering France, senators are outraged

POLICY – “I am at Charles De Gaulle airport. They prevent me from entering France.” On his account The surgeon was preparing to join the Senate, to testify about the dramatic situation in hospitals in Gaza, where he worked for 43 days.

“They say the Germans banned my entry into Europe for a year”, he further indicated in a tweet. A police Source confirmed to AFP that a “Schengen area ban form” issued by Germany prevented his entry into Paris.

Already banned from entering Germany in April

In mid-April, Dr Abu Sittah was in fact banned from entering Germany, as was former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis. Both were to participate in a “Palestinian Congress” in Berlin which the German police put an end to an hour after it started. Questioned about Yanis Varoufakis, German authorities justified this measure by their will “to prevent all anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli propaganda”.

In a video broadcast the same day on X, Dr Abu Sittah then mentioned being banned from German territory “the whole month of April”. He also denounced “the repression of freedom of expression in Germany”a country according to him “accomplice (of the Israeli army, editor’s note) in silencing witnesses to the genocide” in Gaza.

According to a French government Source, if a person is reported for “non-admission” in the Schengen Information System by a member country, it is not authorized to enter all the countries of the Schengen area.

Indignation among the senators organizing the conference

Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah notably treated patients in al-Chifa hospital, which according to the WHO has been reduced to a ” empty shell “ strewn with human remains after a two-week operation by Israeli forces.

The surgeon had been invited to participate in a conference at the Senate, organized by environmentalist senator Raymonde Poncet Monge. The Senate, as an institution, is not at the origin of the event, but political groups are free to organize the conferences of their choice.

Upon hearing the news, Raymonde Poncet Monge did not hide her indignation: ” It’s a shame ! »she lamented on X, before calling on the Minister of the Interior: “Gérald Darmanin, what do you plan to do? “.

“Scandalous, Ghassan Abu Sittah, plastic and reconstructive surgeon who worked in Gaza, is prevented from participating in a conference in the Senate”also reacted Guillaume Gontard, president of the environmental group in the Senate. “We are in discussions with the cabinets of Gérald Darmanin and that of Stéphane Séjourné”the Ministers of the Interior and Foreign Affairs, he then affirmed, nevertheless believing that it would be “probably” sent back to Great Britain even though he had a return ticket for Saturday evening.

Ghassan Abu Sittah was finally able to speak during the conference in question, but only by videoconference “thanks to the mobilization of lawyers”, indicated environmentalist senator Raymonde Poncet Monge during the afternoon. “We are outraged that he cannot be present among us”she nevertheless insisted.

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