Despite ongoing censorship, repression, and the decision by Panteion University to cancel the planned discussion under Zionist pressure, the event with Palestinian national leader and former political prisoner Abdel Nasser Issa successfully took place at the Lofos Art Project in Athens on October 22, 2025.
Over one hundred participants — including Greek, Arab, and internationalist comrades — gathered to renew their commitment to the Palestinian national liberation struggle and to reject all forms of academic repression and complicity with occupation propaganda.
In his impassioned address, Abdel Nasser Issa emphasized the historic and political duty of Palestinians, Arabs, and internationalists to continue the path of liberation from the river to the sea. “Our liberation is not a slogan,” he said. “It is a collective duty, a human responsibility that unites our people in every land, in every prison, and in every exile.”
Issa paid tribute to the great leader and martyr Yahya Sinwar, describing him as “a man of unity” who embodied national cohesion both in prison and after his liberation. Reflecting on his life, Issa remarked: “Before my imprisonment was one stage of resistance. Behind bars, I entered another. Now, in exile, I begin a new phase — a global struggle alongside all who believe in justice and liberation.”
He spoke of how Palestinian liberated prisoners in exile have now become “an integral part of the Palestinian diaspora — a qualitative addition to our people’s institutions abroad and to the global movement of solidarity for all just causes, especially our own.”
“The Zionist enemy wanted to send us into exile to eliminate us from the struggle,” Issa affirmed. “But this will never happen. Our struggle continues — in every field, in every place we are.”
Issa recalled the different stages of the Palestinian struggle in his lifetime: “We began our participation in the struggle with popular resistance. Then we were obliged to take up armed resistance — a legitimate path against colonialism. We continued our resistance behind bars and in solitary confinement, and today we enter a new phase: a serious and effective form of struggle in the world arena.”
Drawing connections between Palestinian liberation and international unity, Issa declared: “As a Muslim, I believe in respecting all people — whatever their faith, philosophy, or creed. We are united as human beings in the struggle against oppression and colonialism, for a world free of racism, imperialism, and inequality, for justice and human dignity.”
He saluted the people of Gaza for their steadfastness, unity, and sacrifice amid genocide: “The steadfastness of Gaza is the steadfastness of all humanity that refuses to bow to extermination. Their resistance is our hope, and their unity is our victory.”
Issa further stated: “After Al‑Aqsa Flood and the events of October 7, the Palestinian struggle has entered a new era. The international movement for Palestine too has entered a new era. We must enhance coordination between all the forces of solidarity with Palestine — to move from the stage of solidarity to the stage of resistance.”
Throughout his speech, Issa reaffirmed full confidence in the armed resistance as the legitimate and necessary path to achieve liberation, while expressing deep solidarity with the thousands of Palestinians still imprisoned. “Freedom,” he declared, “will be achieved through struggle and unity.”
Participants unanimously condemned Panteion University’s decision, calling it “a dangerous precedent that undermines academic freedom and exposes the reach of Zionist pressure within European institutions.” They praised the commitment of the Lofos Art Project and the Greek comrades who ensured that the voice of Palestine would not be silenced.
Special thanks were extended to the Lofos Art Project for their courageous hosting of the event, confronting repression head-on and providing a space of real solidarity — an essential platform for the Palestinian cause and its supporters in Greece and Europe.
In a collective decision, participants agreed to organize similar gatherings on a monthly basis, each featuring a different liberated Palestinian prisoner, establishing a permanent platform for revolutionary dialogue, education, and mobilization in Greece and across Europe.
The Athens gathering thus turned repression into renewed determination — a living message that Palestine cannot be censored and that the march toward liberation continues, with unity, resistance, and international solidarity lighting the way.
Discover more from Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
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