On Saturday, 17 December, the Masar Badil (Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path Movement), with Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network and Alkarama Palestinian Women’s Mobilization, organized an online seminar on the case of the Holy Land Five, Palestinian political prisoners in U.S. jails. Ghassan Elashi, Shukri Abu Baker and Mufid Abdulqader remain imprisoned, serving lengthy sentences for their work to provide charitable support to the Palestinian people.
The online event included presentations and discussions by Zaira Abu Baker, the daughter of imprisoned Holy Land Foundation president Shukri Abu Baker, Nerdeen Kiswani, chair of Within Our Lifetime – United for Palestine (WOL), and Charlotte Kates, international coordinator of Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network.
Speakers discussed the importance of taking action to free the Holy Land Five and building a global campaign for their immediate release. The full video is above. To join the campaign, here are some steps that you can take:
- If you represent an organization, sign onto the call to join the campaign to #FreeTheHLF5
- Donate or host a fundraiser to support the Coalition for Civil Freedoms, a critical organization who has been supporting the Holy Land 5, their families, and many other political prisoners throughout the United States for decades
- Organize an event, screening, or rally to defend the Holy Land 5 and all political prisoners. Send us the details and we’ll share it. Outside the United States? Protest at a U.S. consulate or embassy and demand the release of the HLF5.
- Write to Shukri, Ghassan and Mufid using the instructions and addresses listed at the bottom of this page
- Take pictures with the posters available here and on the WOL site and include the hashtag #FreeTheHLF5
- Share this on social media with your communities
Write The Holy Land 5
Writing to prisoners is an important part of showing solidarity and building morale. Whether you are writing to Palestinian prisoners in Zionist jails, Georges Abdallah in France, or the Holy Land 5 and other political prisoners in the U.S., your letters show these imprisoned strugglers that they are not forgotten, abandoned or isolated despite all attempts to do so, and they also show the jailers that these prisoners have external support.
Please remember that any letters sent to the HLF5 are liable to be opened and read by prison staff. Avoid writing anything sensitive that could be read into by guards and prison officials. Make sure to include both their name and their register number on the envelope.
SHUKRI ABU BAKER 32589-177
USP BEAUMONT
U.S. PENITENTIARY
P.O. BOX 26030
BEAUMONT, TX 77720
GHASSAN ELASHI 29687-177
USP MCCREARY
U.S. PENITENTIARY
P.O. BOX 3000
PINE KNOT, KY 42635
MUFID ABDULQADER 32590-177
FCI SEAGOVILLE
FEDERAL CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION
P.O. BOX 9000
SEAGOVILLE, TX 75159
Download and use these posters
Free the Holy Land 5 (Download PDF)
Free Ghassan Elashi (Download PDF)
Free Shukri Abu Baker (Download PDF)
Free Mufid Abdelqader (Download PDF)
