Germany Orders Internet Providers to Block Website of U.S.-Designated Terror Group Samidoun
Authorities in North Rhine-Westphalia have mandated the blocking of Samidoun's website, whose leaders have documented ties to the PFLP and have previously called for "death to the United States"
German authorities in North Rhine-Westphalia have ordered internet service providers to block access to the website of Samidoun, a pro-Palestinian organization designated as a terrorist entity by the United States, Canada, and Israel. The blocking order, announced January 9, 2026, marks an escalation in Germany’s crackdown on the group, which was banned from operating in the country in November 2023.
The Commission for Youth Media Protection (KJM) of the State Media Authorities issued the blocking order, which the State Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia is now enforcing. Internet service providers, including Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone, must implement the website block by February 5, 2026. The order applies to all companies that provide access to public data networks and enable internet data transmission.
Terrorism Designations Across Multiple Countries
Samidoun, formally known as the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, faces terrorism designations from multiple Western nations. On October 15, 2024, the United States Treasury Department designated Samidoun as a “sham charity that serves as an international fundraiser” for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a group the US has classified as a Foreign Terrorist Organization since 1997.
Canada simultaneously listed Samidoun as a terrorist entity under its Criminal Code. Israeli authorities designated the organization as a terrorist group in February 2021, asserting it functions as a front for PFLP activities. Germany banned Samidoun’s activities in November 2023.
German Authorities Cite Multiple Violations
According to RP Online, the KJM determined that Samidoun’s website opposes the free democratic basic order by spreading antisemitic propaganda to a significant extent, calling for violence, and questioning Israel’s right to exist in its public appearances. The EPD Medien news service reported that the blocking order affects companies involved in technical mediation and data transmission throughout North Rhine-Westphalia.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser justified the original November 2023 ban by stating: “With its spontaneous ‘celebrations’ here in Germany following the horrific terrorist attacks by HAMAS in Israel, Samidoun revealed its true face.”
Leadership Ties to PFLP
Samidoun was founded by Khaled Barakat, identified by the US Treasury as a member of the PFLP’s leadership. The Treasury Department sanctioned Barakat individually for his “fundraising and recruitment efforts” supporting PFLP terrorist activity. According to a George Washington University Program on Extremism report, Barakat has “previously publicly acknowledged Samidoun’s affiliation with the PFLP.”
Charlotte Kates, Samidoun’s international coordinator and Barakat’s spouse, was arrested in Vancouver in May 2024 amid a criminal investigation into hate speech. According to the Anti-Defamation League, Kates called the October 7 Hamas attack “heroic and brave” during a public appearance.
Organization’s Response and Operations
In a statement published on its website, Samidoun condemned the blocking order as “repressive” and an attack on free expression. The organization describes itself as advocating for Palestinian prisoner rights and rejects what it calls the “legitimacy of an implanted colonial settler entity.”
Samidoun maintains chapters across North America and Europe, operating as a fiscally sponsored project of the Alliance for Global Justice, an Arizona-based organization. The group’s activities have included campus organizing, protests, and what authorities describe as coordination with designated terrorist organizations.
The website blocking represents Germany’s most comprehensive technical enforcement measure against the organization to date, moving beyond the activity ban to restrict digital access to Samidoun’s content for internet users throughout Germany’s most populous state.