Fedpol must review entry ban

The Federal Office of Police (fedpol) imposed a 17-day entry ban against a journalist and ordered his immediate expulsion. In effect, this prevented the journalist from speaking at two events in Zurich on 26 January 2025. The journalist appealed the fedpol decision to the Federal Administrative Court (FAC).

Inadequate grounds and incomplete documentation
In its judgment, the FAC found that fedpol had not fulfilled its obligation to state reason. In ordering the entry ban and expulsion, fedpol relied upon an assessment made by the Zurich cantonal police. The latter stated that, through his X-account, the appellant was disseminating content that could clearly be qualified as antisemitic hate speech, and which legitimized or implicitly encouraged terrorist groups or acts. Fedpol initially held a different assessment, but subsequently changed its view. The reasons for this change of opinion are not specified in the rulings and records. Moreover, fedpol failed to substantiate both the danger posed by the appellant and the urgency of the measures. The Federal Intelligence Service was only consulted on the entry ban, not on the expulsion, and its substantive opinion was not documented. The FAC further found that fedpol had violated its obligation to keep records considering the incomplete documentation. Consequently, the FAC upheld the appeals and referred the case back to fedpol for review.

This judgment is final and may not be appealed to the Federal Supreme Court.