Court allows German-Kurdish Integration Award winner to speak out against racism
"It's a success for freedom of speech. Migrants have a right to speak publicly about their experience."
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Bjeen Alhassan, a Kurdish woman from Syria, was allowed to speak out against racist behavior by a German right-wing party member by the court on Friday.
Alhassan is facing a legal complaint after talking to German media about alleged discriminatory behavior by her former MA supervisor Professor Reiner Osbild, the local chairman of the nationalist Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the east Friesland region since 2020.
Read More: German-Kurdish Integration Award winner being sued by right-wing leader
On Friday, the judge made clear the considers the 25,000 euros in damages claim by her former mentor to be unfounded, and according to the preliminary ruling, she can continue to speak about the discrimination she faced.
"He is not entitled to 25,000 euros in compensation and has to live with the consequences of his behavior," Alhassan tweeted.
Er hat keinen Anspruch auf 25.000 Euro Schmerzensgeld und muss mit den Konsequenzen seines Verhaltens leben.
— Bjeen (@bjeenalhassan) March 18, 2022
Nochmals vielen Dank an alle, die sich für mich eingesetzt haben. An alle, die mir emotional beistanden und alle, die mich mit einer Spende finanziell unterstützten.
"Thanks again to everyone who stood up for me," she added. "To everyone who supported me emotionally and to everyone who supported me financially with a donation."
Lawyer David Werdermann, who represents Bjeen Alhassan in court, told Kurdistan 24 on Saturday that it was not the final decision yet.
"It was just a hearing," he said. "But the judge made clear that the claim is unfounded."
"It's a success for freedom of speech," he added. "Migrants have a right to speak publicly about their experience. She is allowed to say that she had experienced discrimination with Reiner Osbild."
The final hearing is expected to take place on Apr. 29.
Alhassan previously received two awards from the German government.
On Oct. 5, 2020, she received the National Integration prize for her project, 'Learning with Bijin – Empowerment of Syrian Women in Germany.'
Read More: Kurdish woman from Qamishlo wins Top National Integration Award in Germany
On Dec. 3, 2021, she also received the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany by the country's President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
