Germany has banned Greece’s former finance minister from speaking in the country even through online means, amid Berlin’s increasing crackdown on freedom of speech regarding Palestine and Israel, the Middle East Monitor reported.

In a statement on X, former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis announced that “Germany’s Interior Ministry has issued a ‘Betätigungsverbot’ against me, a ban on any political activity. Not just a ban on visiting Germany but also from participation via Zoom.”

The ban was reportedly caused by a speech Varoufakis published on multiple platforms including X, in which he advocated for the rights of Palestinians and condemned Israel’s ongoing offensive on Gaza and the genocide it is committing there.

“Universal human rights are either universal or they mean nothing”, he said in his speech, which he was meant to read out at the Palestine Congress – set to take place in Berlin from April 12 to April 14 – before the event was shut down by German police.