LONDON: A German court ruled on Monday that Palestinian journalist Farah Maraqa’s dismissal by the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle over antisemitism allegations was “legally unjustified.”
Maraqa praised the decision on her Twitter page, saying that it was a “date for celebrations” after the court ruled in her favor.
“The labor court gave me justice today,” she said.
A date for celebrations!
The labour court gave me justice today: #DeutscheWelle’s termination of my employment was legally unjustified. I won 100%.
I am grateful for all your support.#DW #reinstatement— Farah Maraqa (@Farah_Maraqa) September 5, 2022
The court decision also ordered DW to reinstate Maraqa and pay her wages for the time she spent dismissed.
“It’s not just a relief for Farah in the difficult situation Deutsche Welle brought her into, but also proof of the strength of the rule of law,” Maraqa’s lawyer, Hauke Rinsdorf, said.
“Regarding the reputation damage, it was severe, we are aware of that, and that’s why we conditioned any settlement with reputation rehabilitation.
“Now we have the court’s decision which speaks for itself. One may see this as an important step to restore Farah’s professional reputation as a journalist,” he added.
Maraqa was among a group of five Arab journalists fired by DW last February following accusations of antisemitic commentary and criticism of Israel.
The employees were investigated after an article highlighted social media posts and articles they had written for outside publications, which allegedly contained antisemitic and anti-Israeli views.
On Feb. 7, the five journalists — Palestinians Farah Maraqa and Maram Salem; Daoud Ibrahim and Bassel Al-Aridi, who are Lebanese; and Syrian Morhaf Mahmoud — were notified of their dismissal.
A week later, another two journalists, Palestinians Yasser Abumuailek and Zahi Alawi, were fired. Later that evening Mohammed Ibrahim, head of news in the Arabic division, resigned.
Last month, a German court in Bonn ruled that Salem’s dismissal was unlawful.
