On Tuesday, a group of five young people who wanted to take part in a delegation trip to Şengal (Sinjar) in northern Iraq were stopped by the federal police at Munich Airport. This was announced by the Defend Kurdistan campaign in a statement.

The statement said: “The delegation accepted an invitation from the Democratic Council of the Yazidis of Shengal to take part in the commemorations for the tenth anniversary of the genocide and femicide of the Yazidis that began on 3 August 2014 by the Islamic State.”

Despite the importance of this trip and the invitation to the memorial event, the five activists were intercepted by the federal police shortly before their departure and held in custody for seven hours. The police then imposed a 30-day travel ban on the activists, which was justified by the foreign policy relations of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Bans on leaving the country quite common in recent years

In the last six years, a total of 131 people were refused leave. In 2021, 17 people were banned from participating in the international "Delegation for Peace and Freedom in Kurdistan", which wanted to draw attention to Turkey's war which violated international law. The delegation included over 150 trade unionists, politicians, activists and journalists from 14 different countries who wanted to observe the situation in the Kurdistan Autonomous Region and support a peace process.

The statement added: "The decision of the Federal Police to prevent the five students from participating in the commemoration events for the genocide of the Yazidis raises questions about the double standards of German foreign policy. It is unacceptable that the Federal Republic of Germany is hindering the commemoration of a recognized genocide and the support of the affected communities. We call on the Federal Government to immediately lift the travel ban and give the activists the opportunity to fulfill their responsibility to remember and commemorate the victims of the genocide."