The court ruled that restricting the slogan ‘From the river to the sea, ...’ under assembly law during a pro-Palestinian demonstration is unlawful, as it does not constitute a criminal offence and therefore does not endanger public safety.

In its reasoning, the court states that expressions of opinion are only relevant under assembly law if they constitute a criminal offence. The slogan ‘From the river to the sea, ...’ is not uniformly considered punishable in case law and literature. After a summary examination, the court found that the slogan was not punishable under Sections 140 No. 2, 111, 130 (1) of the German Criminal Code (StGB) or Section 20 (1) sentence 1 No. 5 of the German Association Act (VereinsG). The slogan as such does not contain a compelling call for armed struggle against Israel and can also be understood as criticism of Israeli policy.

GG Art. 5 Abs. 1, Art. 8; HVersFG § 14 Abs. 1; StGB § 111, § 130 Abs. 1, § 140 Nr. 2; VereinsG § 20 Abs. 1