Wednesday, 8 March
7:00 pm
Maastricht University Faculty of Law
Bouillonstraat 1-3
Maastricht, Netherlands
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1056011254502755/
There is an estimated 7,000 Palestinian political prisoners, of which over 300 are children, held in Israeli jails – sentenced in military courts with 99.7% conviction rates, rounded up in night-time raids, often held under administrative detention (without charge or trial) on the basis of “secret evidence”. Since 1967, around 750,000 Palestinians have been in custody. Palestinian political prisoners represent all sectors of Palestinian society – men, women, children, elders, students, teachers, farmers, workers, artists, organizers and strugglers for freedom. Indeed, dozens of Palestinian student activists and student union representatives are currently imprisoned in Israeli jails. There are 750 Palestinians held without charge or trial under administrative detention.The massive use of imprisonment in Palestine is as a key weapon of settler colonialism as it attempts to suppress and eliminate Palestinian resistance.
Charlotte Kates, a coordinator of Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, will speak about Palestinian prisoners and the treatment they face in Israeli jails (including torture), EU complicity in Israeli occupation, the case for a HP boycott and attacks on the BDS movement.
Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network is a network of international organizers working to build solidarity with Palestinian prisoners in their struggle for freedom. Samidoun developed out of the September-October 2011 hunger strike of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, seeing a need for a dedicated network to support Palestinian prisoners. Samidoun works to raise awareness and provide resources about Palestinian political prisoners, their conditions, their demands, and their work for freedom for themselves, their fellow prisoners, and their homeland. We also work to organize campaigns to make political change and advocate for Palestinian prisoners’ rights and freedoms.
Samidoun seeks to achieve justice for Palestinian prisoners through events, activities, resources, delegations, research and information-sharing, as well as building bridges with the prisoners’ movement in Palestine. Samidoun seeks to amplify the voices of Palestinian prisoners, former prisoners, prisoners’ families, and Palestinian advocates for justice and human rights by translating, sharing and distributing news, interviews and materials from Palestine.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Boycott HP at Maastricht University: https://bdsmovement.net/boycott-hp
Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) is a Palestinian-led movement for freedom, justice and equality. BDS upholds the simple principle that Palestinians are entitled to the same rights as the rest of humanity.
Israel is occupying and colonising Palestinian land, discriminating against Palestinian citizens of Israel and denying Palestinian refugees the right to return to their homes. Inspired by the South African anti-apartheid movement, the BDS call urges action to pressure Israel to comply with international law.
BDS is now a vibrant global movement made up of unions, academic associations, churches and grassroots movements across the world. Eleven years since its launch, BDS is having a major impact and is effectively challenging international support for Israeli apartheid and settler-colonialism.
BDS seeks to prompt the following compliance with international law:
* An end to the 1967 occupation of all Arab lands, particularly the occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza
* The right of Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality
* Respect, protection and promotion of the right of Palestinian refugees to return as stipulated in UN Resolution 194
______________________________________________________
All welcome to join us for this event to mark Israeli Apartheid Week in Maastricht!
Happy International Women’s Day!
Come and learn more about SJP Maastricht’s campaign against HP at Maastricht University!
