On November 4, 2023—approximately four weeks after the Hamas terror attacks on Israel—the defendant participated in a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Düsseldorf with roughly 17,000 other participants. During the march, she displayed a sign with the inscription "FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA PALESTINE WILL BE FREE". On the back of the sign, she had written a reference to Article 5, Paragraph 1 of the German Basic Law (Freedom of Expression). The court confirmed that the slogan is a symbol of Hamas. It noted that Hamas formally adopted this specific English wording in its 2017 charter as a concise summary of its goal to destroy the State of Israel. The court ruled that it is irrelevant if the slogan is also used by others; its adoption by a terrorist group is sufficient for a prohibition intended to keep such symbols out of the public sphere.

§§ 86a Abs. 1 Nr. 1; 140 StGB