30 November marked the 100th day of imprisonment without charge or trial for Salah Hamouri, the French-Palestinian lawyer and human rights advocate jailed in Israeli prisons. Hamouri is supported by a growing campaign throughout France; as the 100th day of his imprisonment was marked, the campaign for his support announced that 1,000 French elected officials and 56 Members of European Parliament had signed on to support Hamouri’s release.
Town councils throughout France have signed on to a call for Hamouri’s release and events have been organized throughout the country to demand that the French government take an active role in advocating for his immediate release. He has been jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention since 23 August 2017.
While the campaign to support Hamouri, led by his wife Elsa Lefort – who herself has been banned by the Israeli occupation for 10 years after returning to Palestine with a valid visa alongside her husband while over six months pregnant and expelled after several days detained in Ben-Gurion airport – has achieved significant support by a growing number of town councils, elected officials and within the French National Assembly, the Macron government continues to avoid firm demands for Hamouri’s release.
The French government expressed its “dissatisfaction” with administrative detention as it violates the right to a fair trial and “requested” an end to Hamouri’s detention, but Macron has not taken serious action to demand Hamouri’s freedom, even as he plans a visit with Israeli prime minister and war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu in Paris in early December.
Of course, this comes as no surprise given that France continues to imprison Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, Lebanese Communist struggler for Palestine jailed for over 33 years, despite his eligibility for parole since 1999, has continued to persecute BDS activists struggling for justice in Palestine, and continues to imprison Canadian professor Hassan Diab on baseless charges despite a severe lack of evidence and repeated decisions by investigating judges for his release.
However, the popular movement to support Hamouri has grown dramatically as evidenced by the over 1,000 elected officials supporting Hamouri and the numerous village, town and city councils officially standing for his release. The 100th day of his imprisonment is being marked with multiple events across France, including a protest on 2 December in Paris and upcoming events in Quimper and Bourg-en-Bresse, among others.
Take Action:
1. Sign the appeal to support Salah Hamouri at http://libertepoursalah.fr
2. Organize an action, event or activity to mark the 100th day of Salah Hamouri’s detention and demand his immediate freedom. Raise his case at events and actions for Palestine.
3. Like and share the Facebook page for Salah Hamouri, which will be regularly updated with news and actions to demand Salah’s freedom: https://www.facebook.com/freesalahhamouri/
Statement of European Parliamentarians for Salah Hamouri:
We, Members of the European Parliament from various opinions, Protest against the unfair treatment of Salah Hamouri a young French citizen, lawyer since August 2017, arrested on August 23 and now in administrative detention in the Israeli prison of Al Naqab based on an allegedly secret file. Call the Israeli authorities to immediately release him. Call on the European institutions to intervene with the Israeli government to put an end to this injustice, in the name of the values that underpin the Européen Union.
- Patrick Le Hyaric – Vice-président GUE/NGL ; membre de la délégation du parlement européen chargé des relations avec La Palestine (France – GUE/NGL)
- Philippe Lamberts – Coprésident VERTS/ALE (Belgique – GREENS/ALE)
- Gabi Zimmer – Présidente du groupe de la Gauche unitaire européenne/Gauche verte nordique (Allemagne – GUE/NGL)
- Tania González Peñas – Vice-présidente GUE/NGL (Espagne – GUE/NGL)
- Maria Arena – (Belgique – S&D)
- Paloma López Bermejo – (Espagne – GUE/NGL)
- Bart Staes – (Belgique – GREENS/ALE)
- Nikolaos Chountis – (Grèce – GUEN/NGL)
- Miguel Viegas – (Portugal – GUE/NGL)
- António Marinho e Pinto – Vice-président Délégation Brésil (Portugal -ALDE)
- Eleonora Forenza – Vice-présidente Délégation Chili (Italie – GUE/NGL)
- Pascal Durand – Vice-président VERTS/ALE (France – GREENS/ALE)
- Angela Vallina – (Espagne – GUE/NGL)
- Karima Delli – Présidente Commission des transports et du tourisme (France -GREENS/ALE)
- Sofia Sakorafa – Présidente Délégation pour les relations avec les pays d’Amérique centrale (Grèce – GUE/NGL)
- Ernest Urtasun – Vice-président Assemblée EUROLAT (Espagne -GREENS/ALE)
- Younous Omarjee – Vice-président Commission du développement régional (France -GUE/NGL)
- Javier Nart – Vice-président ALDE – Vice-président Assemblée paritaire ACPUE (Espagne – ALDE)
- Marina Albiol – (Espagne – GUE/NGL)
- Edouard Martin – (France – S&D)
- Neoklis Sylikiotis – Président Délégation Palestine – Vice-président GUE/NGL- Président délégation Palestine (Chypre – GUE/NGL)
- Margrete Auken – Vice-présidente Délégation Palestine (Danemark – GREENS/ALE)
- Lola Sanchez Caldentey – (Espagne – GUE/NGL)
- Michèle Rivasi – Vice-présidente Assemblée paritaire ACP-UE (France -GREENS/ALE)
- Josu Juaristi – (Pays Basque – GUE/NGL)
- Ivo Vajgl – (Slovénie – ALDE)
- Joao Ferreira – (Portugal – GUE/NGL)
- Sergio Cofferati – (Italie – S&D)
- Marie-Pierre Vieu – (France – GUE/NGL)
- Jean-Marie Cavada – Vice-président Commission des affaires juridiques (France – ALDE)
- Marc Tarabella – Vice-président Délégation pour les relations avec les pays de l’Asie du Sud-Est et l’Association des nations de l’Asie du Sud-Est (Belgique – S&D)
- Marie-Christine Vergiat – (France – GUE/NGL)
- Josep María Terricabras – Vice-président Verts/ALE (Espagne – GREENS/ALE)
- Barbara Spinelli – Vice-présidente Commission des affaires constitutionnelles (Italie – GUE/NGL)
- Yannick Jadot – Vice-président Commission du commerce international (France – GREENS/ALE)
- Javier Couso Permuy – Vice-président Commission des affaires étrangères – Vice-président délégation pour les relations avec l’Iraq (Espagne – GUE/NGL)
- Eva Joly – Vice-présidente Commission d’enquête chargée d’examiner les allégations d’infraction et de mauvaise administration dans l’application du droit de l’Union en matière de blanchiment de capitaux, d’évasion fiscale et de fraude fiscale (PANA) – Vice-présidente Délégation pour les relations avec l’Afghanistan (France – GREENS/ALE)
- Marisa Matias – Présidente Délégation pour les relations avec les pays du Mashrek (Portugal – GUE/NGL)
- José Bové – (France – GRENS/ALE)
- Lidia Senra – (Espagne – GUE/NGL)
- Patricia Lalonde – (France – ALDE)
- Martina Anderson – (Irlande du Nord – GUE/NGL)
- Julie Ward – (Royaume Uni – S&D)
- Matt Carthy – (Irlande – GUE/NGL)
- Ana Maria Gomes – Vice-présidente Commission d’enquête chargée d’examiner les allégations d’infraction et de mauvaise administration dans l’application du droit de l’Union en matière de blanchiment de capitaux, d’évasion fiscale et de fraude fiscale (PANA) – (Portugal – S&D)
- Lynn Boylan – (Irlande – GUE/NGL)
- Hilde Vautmans – (Belgique -ALDE)
- Liadh Ní Riada – (Irlande – GUE/NGL)
- Keith Taylor – (Royaume Uni – GREENS)
- Joao Pimenta – Vice-président Commission des droits de la femme et de l’égalité des genres – Vice-président Délégation à l’Assemblée parlementaire euro-latinoaméricaine – (Portugal (GUE/NGL)
- Miguel Urbán (Espagne – GUE/NGL)
- Xabier Benito Ziluaga – Vice-président Délégation pour les relations avec le Mercosur – (Espagne – GUE/NGL)
- Estefanía Torres Martínez – (Espagne – GUE/NGL)
- Merja Kyllönen – (Finlande – GUE/NGL)
- Curzio Maltese – (Italie – GUE/NGL)
- Stelios Kouloglou – (Grèce – GUE/NGL)
- Jozo RADOŠ (Croatia – ALDE)
