Inminds and its Palestinian Prisoner Support Campaign organized a protest in London on 8 January against the attempts to extradite former Palestinian prisoner Omar Nayef Zayed from Bulgaria to Israel, visiting the Bulgarian embassy and the Palestinian embassy in London. Zayed is currently taking refuge inside the Palestinian embassy in Sofia.
The London protest kicked off a week of action for Zayed, including events in New York City, Berlin, Brussels, Ramallah, Gaza and elsewhere calling for the Bulgarian government to reject the extradition request against Zayed, who has lived in Bulgaria for 22 years. His wife and children are Bulgarian citizens and he is a well-known member of the Palestinian community in Sofia.
Protesters visited the Bulgarian embassy, spoke and distributed information and carried large banners and signs with Omar’s face and information about his case. They delivered a letter of protest to the Bulgarian ambassador, calling upon Bulgaria to defend Omar and stop all attempts to prosecute or extradite him.
They then traveled to the Palestinian embassy in London in order to support his sanctuary in the Palestinian embassy and urge the Palestinian Authority to do its utmost to defend Omar, especially following various incidents in which PA officials have pressured him to leave the embassy. They spoke with Ambassador Manuel Hassassian, who joined the protesters and expressed his support for Omar Zayed, emphasizing that Palestinian officials must work actively in the international arena to defend Omar and ensure his safety and that he will not be put in danger.
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