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The frontman of<\/span> British punk rap band Bob Vylan was denied entry to Germany, detained at the Berlin airport, and ultimately deported to the United Kingdom last month due to his pro-Palestine statements.<\/p>\n German federal police justified deporting the band\u2019s vocalist on June 15, referencing a performance at the Glastonbury Festival in England in 2025 where Bob Vylan led a chant of \u201cDeath, death to the IDF,\u201d or the Israel Defense Forces.<\/p>\n Authorities later revoked the entry ban against the singer, whose legal name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, in a letter in late July, but refused to explain why it had been rescinded \u2014 or how the decision to impose it had been made in the first place.<\/p>\n A police file on Robinson-Foster obtained by The Intercept alleges that he disseminated antisemitic narratives and Hamas propaganda that could \u201cradicalise certain segments of the [German] population\u201d and serve as \u201cideological justification\u201d for terrorist groups or individuals. It also says that Robinson-Foster poses a threat to Germany\u2019s public security and public order. Allowing him into the country would cause \u201cconsiderable reputational damage\u201d by creating the impression that Germany was making \u201cno effort to prevent the spread of the propagated antisemitism and the associated calls to violence.\u201d<\/p>\n The German Federal Police declined to answer detailed questions about the now-revoked entry ban, citing public security interests and data protection. In response to a list of questions about the decision-making process behind the ban, its legal basis, and why it was lifted, Bundespolizei spokesperson Nikolai Jaletzke told The Intercept the agency does not comment on individual cases, internal threat assessments, or inter-agency coordination.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s frankly absurd to suggest that I\u2019m a threat to German national security,\u201d Robinson-Foster told The Intercept. \u201cIt\u2019s equally absurd to claim that we spread propaganda on behalf of any proscribed organization.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s frankly absurd to suggest that I\u2019m a threat to German national security.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n Bob Vylan\u2019s Glastonbury performance last year drew widespread international attention<\/a> at a moment when an increasing number of artists<\/a> were speaking out<\/a> against Israel\u2019s destruction of Gaza<\/a>. The performance \u2014 and the chant of \u201cDeath, death to the IDF\u201d \u2014 also drew condemnation from politicians, including then-U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and several pro-Israel Jewish organizations. Germany\u2019s antisemitism commissioner, Felix Klein, described the performance as \u201chate speech and incitement\u201d and called on concert organizers in Germany to cancel Bob Vylan shows.<\/p>\n Following that performance, Robinson-Foster and his bandmate Wade Laurence George had their U.S. visas revoked. However, Germany is the first country to deny entry and deport a member of the band.<\/p>\n The documents reviewed by The Intercept concern only the implementation of the ban \u2014\u00a0not the decision-making process behind it. \u201cOur position is simple,\u201d said Alexander Gorski, the German lawyer representing Robinson-Foster. \u201cThere is a constitutional right to know the file on which such a decision is based.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Following Robinson-Foster\u2019s deportation, Gorski submitted a request with the Federal Police headquarters in Potsdam seeking both the deletion of the entry ban from Germany\u2019s national register and access to the files underlying the decision. Soon after, federal police rescinded the entry ban without explaining why it had been lifted. The two-page response, reviewed by The Intercept, states that no additional information could be disclosed.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is, of course, good that the ban is now lifted,\u201d Gorski told The Intercept. \u201cBut from a rule-of-law perspective, it is deeply problematic that someone can be barred from entering the country over a political statement that is not a criminal offence \u2014 and then be denied access to the files.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf an artist wants to comply with the law, they have to know what the rules are.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n Gorski filed a formal objection seeking access to the internal files that led to the decision. He argues that Robinson-Foster has a right to know the factual and legal basis on which he was barred from entering Germany \u2014 not only to challenge the lawfulness of the measure, but also to understand what conduct German authorities consider grounds for refusing entry in the future.<\/p>\n \u201cIf an artist wants to comply with the law, they have to know what the rules are,\u201d Gorski said.<\/p>\n\n
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