During Wednesday’s parliamentary proceedings, four members of the Left party were removed from the Bundestag plenary hall following a demonstration during debate on the budget for the Foreign Office. The lawmakers were observed holding a Palestinian flag.
Bundestag Vice-President Josephine Ortleb (SPD) also initially ordered the removal of a photographer from the press gallery. The photographer, working for the dts news agency, was documenting the incident as part of his journalistic duties. The dts news agency subsequently lodged a formal protest regarding the expulsion, addressing both the Bundestag administration and Ortleb’s office.
Ortleb subsequently announced that representatives Lisa Schubert, Cansin Köktürk, Vinzenz Glaser and Charlotte Neuhäuser had been excluded from the remainder of the Wednesday session. The stated reason for their removal was a “serious breach of the dignity and order of this House”. The photographer from dts news agency was permitted to return to his workspace approximately thirty minutes after the initial expulsion.