Ukraine bars far-left German MP from entry
Sören Pellmann, a German MP representing Die Linke party, has been deported from Ukraine and barred from entering the country, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry confirmed on July 11.
The ministry said Pellmann was denied entry because he "systematically justified Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine and denied the country's right to armed defense."
“Ukraine, like any sovereign state, has the right to decide whom to allow or deny entry to its territory, especially when it concerns those who deny our state's right to self-defense against Russian military aggression and support the aggressor's attempts to destroy it," the ministry said in a comment to Ukrainska Pravda.
Shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Pellmann, along with a handful of other German MPs, issued a statement placing the blame for Moscow’s armed aggression on the United States and NATO.
On July 9, Pellmann announced that he was detained at the Ukrainian border and denied entry. According to him, this happened despite having permission from the embassy and the Foreign Ministry.
Pellmann suggested that the decision might be due to his "commitment to peaceful resolution [of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine] and a ban on [German] arms exports."
“It paints a frightening picture of basic rights such as freedom of expression when an EU accession candidate denies entry to MPs from EU countries and feeds my doubts,” he wrote in a Twitter post.
German newspaper Tagesschau reported that the MP was detained at Lviv Railway Station and deported to Poland. Pellmann had planned to visit Kyiv.
The German Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced it will
seek explanations from Ukraine.
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