Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network urges all supporters of justice in Palestine to hold events, actions, info tables, demonstrations, postering campaigns and mobilizations on 8 through 11 November to demand freedom for Palestinian political prisoners struggling for freedom – and their very lives – in Israeli occupation prisons.
Khalida Jarrar, leading Palestinian feminist, leftist and parliamentarian, was seized in the pre-dawn hours of 31 October 2019 by Israeli occupation forces. The heavily armed force invaded her home with over a dozen military vehicles and 80 soldiers only eight months after she was last released from Israeli prison. She had been jailed there for 20 months with no charge and no trial under administrative detention. During Khalida’s imprisonment, over 275 organizations around the world joined the call for her freedom, and protests and mobilizations around the world highlighted her case. It is time to act again and demand Khalida’s immediate release!
Heba al-Labadi is a 24-year-old Palestinian with Jordanian citizenship. She has been on hunger strike since 24 September 2019 against her administrative detention – imprisonment without charge or trial. She is one of 425 Palestinians detained without charge or trial, many of whom spend years at a time jailed under indefinitely renewed administrative detention orders. There are over 5,500 Palestinians imprisoned in total by the Israeli occupation. Heba al-Labadi launched her hunger strike after five weeks of harsh interrogation involving techniques amounting to torture, including sleep deprivation, threats against her family, verbal abuse and sleep deprivation. Heba has been jailed by the Israeli occupation since 20 August, when she entered Palestine with her mother to attend a wedding in Nablus.
Samer Arbeed is being held in Hadassah hospital after severe Israeli torture under interrogation and brutal beatings that caused him to lose consciousness for weeks. He has been shackled to his bed and even tear-gassed in his hospital room by Israeli forces despite the fact that he has 11 broken ribs and pneumonia as well as kidney dysfunction so severe he now requires dialysis. He suffered from none of these medical conditions prior to being seized by Israeli occupation forces on 25 September, although his wife witnessed occupation soldiers begin to beat him immediately upon arresting him. He has been banned from lawyers’ visits and his lawyers were not informed that he was tear-gassed; in a medical report delivered by the intensive care unit at the hospital, it was noted that Samer’s lung health has further deteriorated due to contamination in his ventilation apparatus. He is being subjected to continuous interrogation even as he remains in his hospital room due to Israeli torture.
Khalida, Heba and Sameer have all, independently of one another, organized and spoken out for Palestinian prisoners. Khalida is one of the most prominent international advocates for Palestinian prisoners and their rights and the former vice-chair of the board of directors of Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association. Heba has written and campaigned about Palestinian political prisoners and urged their freedom, including that of Georges Abdallah, jailed in France for 35 years. Samer Arbeed volunteered and worked for organizations demanding freedom for prisoners – and has been previously targeted for his work.
On Friday, 8 November through Monday, 11 November, speak out for Khalida, Heba, Samer and all of the thousands of Palestinians held behind bars. Torture, arbitrary detention and abuse are taking place in full view of the world and we must speak out to stand with these Palestinians demanding their most fundamental rights. Free all Palestinian prisoners! Freedom for Palestine!
1) Organize or join an event or protest for the Palestinian prisoners. You can organize an info table, rally, solidarity hunger strike, protest or action to support the prisoners. If you are already holding an event about Palestine or social justice, include solidarity with the prisoners as part of your action. Send your events and reports to [email protected].
2) Write letters and make phone calls to protest the violation of Palestinian prisoners’ rights. Demand your government take action to stop supporting Israeli occupation or to pressure the Israeli state to end the policies of repression of Palestinian political prisoners. In particular, demand that your political officials put pressure on Israel to end the policy of administrative detention, the imprisonment of Palestinians without charge or trial.
Call during your country’s regular office hours:
• Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs Marise Payne: + 61 2 6277 7500
• Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland: +1-613-992-5234
• European Union Commissioner Federica Mogherini: +32 (0) 2 29 53516
• New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters: +64 4 439 8000
• United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt: +44 20 7008 1500
• United States President Donald Trump: 1-202-456-1111
3) Boycott, Divest and Sanction. Join the BDS campaign to highlight the complicity of corporations like Hewlett-Packard and the continuing involvement of G4S in Israeli policing and prisons. Build a campaign to boycott Israeli goods, impose a military embargo on Israel, or organize around the academic and cultural boycott of Israel. Learn more about the BDS campaign at bdsmovement.net.
Let us know about your events. Contact us at [email protected] or inform us on Facebook.
