The right to protest is a Luxembourgish constitutional right since 1868. How we exercise this right, however, is now put into question. While some activists already warn of informal coercion in current times, new legislation may formally restrict the right to protest. Lëtzebuerger Journal talked to an activist, civil society representatives and the government to explore what the future of this fundamental right might look like.
Over the past month, news broke that Luxembourg’s foreign affairs minister Xavier Bettel (DP) is filing charges against a pro-Palestinian activist because of a satirical image which she posted of him online. A few weeks ago, Luxembourgish pro-Palestinian collectives reported that a teacher was fired by the government because of her online activism. While these legal matters will unfold behind-the-scenes in the coming weeks and months, the question of freedom of expression seems to stand at the crossroads: should people start fearing repercussions for political expression or will the state take a stand to strengthen our constitutional rights?
Esmeralda Wirtz from the human rights organisation Amnesty International Luxembourg states, that "we can see that some people are more targeted than others and there is especially pressure on pro-Palestinian voices". In the case of the activist sued by Xavier Bettel, "this was just digital activism" and "a red line has been crossed. This is sort of the beginning of authoritarianism: targeting individuals who said the 'wrong' thing".
"I feel so sorry for what's happening to them", pro-Palestinian activist Leila (name changed for anonymity) says about the above-mentioned activists, but she states that this is only the publicised tip of the iceberg. Leila was involved in pro-Palestinian activism in Luxembourg since 2023. As she has herself Palestinian heritage, the cause has been dear to her heart. Nevertheless, she now removed herself from the activist scene to protect herself – after she has been fired twice for her own activism, was questioned by the police and witnessed the intimidation of fellow activists.
Surveillance and intimidation
One specifically unsettling experience was due to a report on anti-Semitism. Leila remembers several protests where fully masked bystanders were taking pictures and videos of the protesters. "You would just see the flash of a camera. It was quite scary". Later on, she then saw the faces of fellow activists, their organisations, their names as well as social media handles in a report on anti-Semitism by the Recherche et information sur l’antisémitisme au Luxembourg (RIAL). Her face was not among them.
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