In a case which sets an extremely dangerous precedent for judicial repression of Palestinians and pro-Palestine activists in Europe, the Court of L’Aquila, Italy, has sentenced Anan Yaeesh to 5 years and 6 months in prison for conspiracy to commit terrorism. At the same hearing, Ali Irar and Mansour Doghmosh were acquitted, the three having been accused of links to the Tulkarem Rapid Response Groups of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, a resistance group active in the West Bank of occupied Palestine.

This sentencing is yet another demonstration of European institutional alignment with the Zionist entity, their relentless persecution of Palestinian Resistance, and contempt for the Palestinians’ legal and moral right to resist and seek liberation from colonialism and occupation.

As the sentence for Anan Yaeesh was read out, the courtroom — full of activists in solidarity with Palestine — was filled with shouts of “shame, shame!” Even as they celebrated the acquittal of Ali and Mansour, the outrageousness of Anan’s sentence demonstrated precisely the criminalization of legal and legitimate Palestinian resistance. Anan Yaeesh was accused of — and proudly affirmed — participation in resistance in the West Bank, universally internationally recognized as under occupation, whose people have a right to pursue armed struggle to achieve their liberation.

The court’s sentences fell significantly short of the prosecution’s demands, which had sought 12 years in prison for Anan Yaeesh, 9 for Ali Irar, and 7 for Mansour Doghmosh. Anan, who will appeal the verdict, has been detained since January 2024. Held in Melfi prison, he could only observe the final hearing via video call.

In Italy, a growing movement of solidarity has supported these defendants, viewing them not merely as individuals on trial but as integral members of the global struggle for Palestinian liberation. Many organizations, including the Giovani Palestinesi Italia, the Free Anan Committee, and a range of leftist political parties, Palestinian community organizations, student groups and solidarity movements have joined the campaign in support of the three men.

Outside the courthouse, there was even more immediate outrage upon the announcement of the sentence, with supporters protesting Anan’s sentence in anger. The Zionist entity, which had attempted to have Yaeesh extradited in 2024 only to be denied, had clearly influenced the final decision through its embassy, as the defense team warned of Israeli military intelligence materials being used as evidence in the case in a statement before the hearing. In fact, the Italian charges brought against Yaeesh were simply a restatement of the Zionist allegations raised to pursue his extradition.

Outside the courthouse, the defense lawyer Rossi Albertini stated “This process should have established whether we were dealing with terrorism or legitimate resistance to the occupation, applying international humanitarian law, but this step was bypassed.” One of the most serious aspects of the trial was the exclusion, from the beginning, of all defense witnesses, who were experts in international humanitarian law and occupation, who would clearly affirm that resistance to foreign occupation and colonization is a fundamental right. Only the prosecution’s witnesses, mainly DIGOS (Special Operations Unit) officers, were permitted. Perhaps even more disturbing was the attempt to use interrogation records of Palestinian prisoners held in “Israeli” jails. “These are statements made without legal counsel after Shin Bet interrogations, where torture is systematic. Their use in a trial is both legally and morally unacceptable,” Albertini noted.

Furthermore, the court admitted testimony from an Israeli embassy official. “This is a grave matter,” said Rossi Albertini, “to recognize the occupying state as a reliable source just as the International Court of Justice has declared the occupation illegal and ordered the dismantling of settlements.” This case demonstrates not just the court’s institutional alignment with the Zionist occupation, but also its willingness to let the genocidal state dictate its own repressive agenda through the European judiciary.

Anan Yaeesh and his lawyers have already declared that they will be appealing the sentence. Through this case, they are defending not only Anan himself, but the Palestinian people’s right to resist occupation — a critically important action at the same time that the imperialist powers, led by the United States and including Italy, are attempting to impose “disarmament” upon the Palestinian resistance.

This case is not alone. The Italian state is also imprisoning seven Palestinian men, including Mohammad Hannoun, president of the Associazione dei Palestinesi in Italia, Raed Dawoud, Yasser Elasaly, Raed al-Salahat, Reyad Albustanji, Khalil Abu Deiah and Adel Abu Rawwa, accusing them of “funding Hamas” for raising millions of Euro to support the Palestinian people. Like the case of Anan Yaeesh, the case against these seven activists — prominent leaders of the Palestinian community and of the Palestine movement in Italy — relies extensively on “Israeli” allegations, designations and intelligence information, including alleged documents seized by genocidal forces in Gaza as well as Shin Bet interrogations. Ahmed Salem, a Palestinian refugee from Lebanon, has also been imprisoned in Italy for nearly 1 year after he applied for asylum in the country; instead of being provided with protection, he is accused of “terrorist propaganda” for videos urging action against genocide.

The imprisonment of Anan Yaeesh is, like the persecution of the Palestinian 7 and Ahmed Salem, part and parcel of Italy’s ongoing comolicity in genocide, a direct act to aid and abet the genocide of the Palestinian people by denying the legitimacy of their resistance, depriving them of aid and support, and attempting to erase Palestinian refugees’ quest for protection, rights and return.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network congratulates Ali Irar and Mansour Doghmosh on their just acquittal, and urges all — not only in Italy but internationally — to continue the campaign of support to free Anan Yaeesh and all of the Palestinian prisoners in Italian and other imperialist jails, alongside the Palestinian prisoners in the occupation’s dungeons. Today, 17 January at 3 pm, in Milano, there will be a demonstration at Via Palestro in solidarity with Palestine and with all the Palestinian prisoners in Italian and occupation prisons.

The struggle continues until Anan Yaeesh, and all Palestinian political prisoners in Italy (Mohammad, Raed, Raed, Yaser, Reyad, Khalil, Adel and Ahmad), in Palestine and around the world, are free — and until Palestine is free, from the river to the sea!

Friday, 16 January marks an important day for several Palestinian political prisoners in Italy, with a sentencing hearing in the case of Anan Yaeesh, Ali Irar and Mansour Doghmosh in L’Aquila, simultaneous with a hearing on the detention of Mohammad Hannoun, Ra’ed Dawoud, Yasser Elasaly, Raed Al-Salahat, Reyad Albustanji, Khalil Abu Deiah and Adel Abu Rawwa —  the Palestinian 7 — in Genoa. Along with the Italian government’s expression of political support for the Zionist occupation and its genocide of the Palestinian people, especially in Gaza, the Italian state has dramatically escalated its criminalization of Palestinians and the Palestine solidarity movement.

The case of Anan Yaeesh — who has remained imprisoned since his arrest in January 2024, after the “Israeli” occupation requested his extradition to occupied Palestine, accused of participating in the Rapid Response Groups of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades (the armed wing of the Fateh movement, that participates in the Resistance) in Tulkarem — and Ali Irar and Mansour Doghmosh, is paradigmatic. Resistance to occupation, even in the very clearly internationally recognized occupied lands of the West Bank, is labeled as “terrorism,” despite the fact that armed resistance to foreign occupation and colonization is a right under international law. The persecution of Anan, Ali, and Mansour is a direct attack on Palestinian resistance — and on the right itself to resist and seek liberation from colonialism and occupation.

On 16 January, their sentencing is scheduled; prosecutors have demanded 12 years in prison for Anan Yaeesh, nine for Ali Irar, and seven for Mansour Doghmosh. These Palestinians have seen a growing support movement for their freedom in Italy, alongside the movement for the liberation of Palestine and an end to the genocide in Gaza — at the same time that the state has escalated its repression. Protests are being organized in at least the following cities:

• L’Aquila: Gather at 9:30 am on Friday, 16 January outside the Tribunale Dell’Aquila, Via XX Settembre, 68
• Bergamo: Gather at 5 pm (17h) on Friday, 16 January in Porta Nuova (Piazza Gaza)
• Pisa: Gather at 11:30 am, Friday, 16 January, Piazza XX Settembre

Buses are also being organized from Rome, Firenze, Bologna and Milano to support Anan, Ali and Mansour. Anan Yaeesh was actually transferred to the Melfi detention center from his previous prison, closer to Rome, after the mass general strike for Palestine in Italy — in order to deprive him of support. At the last hearing in the case, on 19 December, over 200 people attended to demand freedom for Anan, Ali and Mansour and an end to the criminalization of Palestinian resistance — leading to the sentencing being postponed to 16 January. During that hearing, Anan Yaeesh made a spontaneous statement to the judge, as follows:

If I was born in Palestine, it was not my choice. It was a gift of life.

But if I resist, it is a choice, it is my will, it is my decision. To defend our people, our land, and our children, who have been killed every day since 1948 until today by the Israelis. And this decision is the best thing I have done in my life.

It is a mistake to think that those who resist do not love life. We love life more than anyone else, but we want a life of freedom, not a life of oppression. We want a good life, free and safe for our children. That is why we give our lives for our people.

Whether you sentence me and I remain in prison, or whether I am freed, it changes nothing. I love and will always love the Italian people. Italian partisans are part of us, and we are part of them. The Italian people are rising up; I have never seen such a movement anywhere else in the world. This movement is a true tidal wave.

Thank you to the Flotilla and to all those who help the Palestinian people put an end to the genocide. They all do it for us, without ties of blood or language, simply because they share the same love for humanity and for freedom.

The Italian people are, as always, the first to resist for us.

Your Honor, Resistance is an idea, and an idea never dies. Even if we die, we remain alive in the heart of our people. We live in the hearts of all those who love freedom.

Nelson Mandela lives in our hearts.
Che Guevara lives in our hearts.
Yasser Arafat lives in our hearts.
George Habash lives in our hearts.
Jihad Shihade lives in our hearts.
Abu Shujaa lives in our hearts.
Tamer Al-Kilani lives in our hearts.

Long live Arab Palestine, Palestinian and free.
Long live the Palestinian resistance until freedom.
Long live Palestinian youth in Italy and throughout the entire world.

Freedom for all prisoners who struggle for freedom.
Freedom for our prisoners in Israeli prisons.
Freedom for our father Marwan Barghouti.

One day, a Palestinian child will raise the flag of a free Palestine!
Long live Arab, Palestinian Palestine!
Long live the resistance until freedom!

Thank you.

19/12/2025
Melfi Detention Center

Anan Yaeesh

Simultaneously, at 9 am on Friday, 16 April, the Court of Genoa will review the detention of the Palestinian 7, seized on 27 December 2025 in a series of coordinated raids and attacks. Mohammad Hannoun — president of the Associazione dei Palestinesi in Italia (API) — Ra’ed Dawoud, Yasser Elasaly, Khalil Abu Deiah, Adel Abu Rawwa, Raed Al-Salahat and Reyad Albustanji, were all seized by Italian police for their charitable work in support of Palestine, based entirely on “Israeli” allegations and the constant effort of the occupier to deprive the Palestinian people of aid and support. The targeted Palestinians have been subjected to a wide-ranging media smear campaign and stand “accused” of organizing the donation of millions of Euro to Palestinian institutions, orphans, and needy people, and are particularly targeted for including the families of martyrs and prisoners in their support.

As in the case of Anan, Ali and Mansour, the case targets Palestinian resistance and organizing; the seven are accused of membership in and supporting Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, particularly for their work in the Gaza Strip, on the basis of Zionist intelligence claims. Previously, their charitable organizations have been subjected to U.S. sanctions and coercive economic measures — equally designed to aid and abet genocide by denying aid to the targeted Palestinian population. All seven of the men have been declared “flight risks” and are being held in pretrial detention. Large demonstrations in various cities, including a mass march in Milano on 10 January, have already demanded their release.

Today, at 10 am, at Piazza Portoria, outside the Tribunal de Genova, the API is organizing a demonstration for the freedom of the targeted Palestinians and against the criminalization of the Palestinian community.

Tomorrow, on 17 January, there will be a mass gathering in Milano, at Via Palestro (Angolo C. So Venezia, Palestro M1) at 3 pm (15h), marching to Piazza Scala, in solidarity with all of the Palestinian political prisoners in Italy — Mohammad Hannoun, Ra’ed Dawoud, Yasser Elasaly, Khalil Abu Deiah, Reyad Albustanji, Adel Abu Rawwa, Raed Al-Salahat, Anan Yaeesh, Ali Irar, Mansour Doghmosh and Ahmed Salem.

The defense attorneys for the Palestinian 7 issued a statement against the integration of Zionist military intelligence in the Italian courts:

MILITARY INTELLIGENCE MATERIALS CANNOT BE THE BASIS FOR CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS

THE COURT OF JUSTICE IS NOT A BATTLEFIELD

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The undersigned defense attorneys involved in the ongoing trial for alleged terrorism financing in Genoa consider it necessary to publicly denounce a serious distortion of the principles of the rule of law, international criminal cooperation, and fundamental guarantees of criminal proceedings, starting from the presumption of innocence, which is once again openly violated.

The ongoing judicial initiative on alleged terrorism financing does not concern criminally established conduct, but the transmission and circulation of information acquired in a war scenario, originating from a context of ongoing armed conflict and produced by foreign security agencies.

It must be clarified with absolute clarity: these are not judicial evidence, but intelligence material. Unvalidated information, not subject to judicial control, lacking the ability to be properly challenged and the minimum guarantees of reliability required in a state of law.

It is an undeniable fact that the State of Israel systematically refuses to submit to the rules of international criminal justice, even evading the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, even in the face of serious and documented accusations of international crimes. It is therefore legally and politically unacceptable that the same state simultaneously claims to exploit the mechanisms of international criminal cooperation to export unilateral investigative allegations, unverified and in service of an ongoing armed conflict.

No Israeli judge has ever validated the investigative hypotheses now invoked. They remain entirely the prerogative of the security services, which operate under the direct control of the executive and within a clearly warlike logic. Importing such materials into the criminal process means breaking down the essential distinction in a democracy between war and justice.

Additionally, a fact that cannot be ignored is that completely similar proceedings, initiated in the past in various Italian courts on the basis of overlapping investigative assumptions, have already been dismissed after in-depth investigations by the Italian judiciary, highlighting the absence of criminally relevant elements and the unsuitability of the transmitted information to support a charge in court.

Reproposing the same hypotheses today means persisting in an investigative logic that deliberately ignores previous judicial decisions and empties the principle of legality of its meaning.

It is particularly serious, moreover, that the presumption of innocence is systematically trampled upon through public statements and guilt-oriented media narratives, which anticipate the judgment and transform the investigation into a conviction, in open contrast with Article 27 of the Constitution, with European law, and with the principles of a fair trial.

The use of purely intelligence-based information as the basis of internal criminal proceedings represents a dangerous slide towards a criminal law of the enemy, in which categories and tools proper to war are transferred to ordinary justice, with devastating effects on fundamental rights.

Finally, we denounce the concrete risk of an indirect criminalization of an entire community, targeted not for criminally established conduct, but for cultural, religious, and solidarity-based ties with a population involved in an armed conflict.

International criminal cooperation cannot turn into a channel for legitimizing intelligence narratives produced by a warring party, nor be bent to political or military purposes. In the absence of effective, independent, and transparent judicial control over the origin and reliability of the information transmitted, any use of it in criminal proceedings is legally fragile and democratically dangerous.

The defense team will continue to oppose this drift in every forum, reiterating that justice cannot be selective, asymmetric, or subordinated to the logic of conflict, and that criminal law is not — nor should it become — a weapon of war.

The Defenders

• Nicola Canestrini
• Fausto Gianelli
• Elisa Marino
• Gilberto Pagani
• Pier Poli
• Marina Prosperi
• Nabil Ryah
• Dario Rossi
• Flavio Rossi Albertini
• Giuseppe Sambataro
• Fabio Sommovigo
• Emanuele Tambuscio
• Gianluca Vitale
• Samuele Zucchini

Four days later, on 20 January, Ahmad Salem, a 24-year-old Palestinian refugee born in the Baddawi refugee camp in Lebanon, will face a hearing at 12 noon at the Campobasso court. After he applied for asylum, his phone was seized and he is accused of engaging in “terrorist propaganda” on the basis of making a video calling for people to organize and act against the ongoing genocide in Gaza and throughout occupied Palestine. He has now been imprisoned for 10 months. Outside the Campobasso court, the 4 September movement is organizing a solidarity demonstration at 12 pm on Tuesday, 20 January, to demand Ahmad’s freedom.

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Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network reiterates our solidarity with and call for the immediate release of all of the imprisoned and targeted Palestinians and fellow activists, an end to the persecution of Palestinians and Palestine solidarity organizers, and full recognition of the legitimacy of Palestinian resistance:

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network demands the immediate release of Mohammed Hannoun, Raed Dawoud, Yasser el-Assaly, Anan Yaeesh, Ali Irar, Mansour Doghmosh and Ahmed Salem and the return of the funds of the targeted organizations, as well as a full end to Italian support, complicity, trade and military commerce with the Zionist regime. This is a moment when independent, community-based support for the Palestinian people, especially in Gaza, is more urgent than ever, as the Zionist regime, with full U.S. and European imperialist support, is aiming to accomplish what it could not through its genocidal bombs through siege, starvation, the continued closure of the Rafah crossing, and the denial of fundamental needs. The work of these organizations is most desperately needed now — and this is precisely why they have been targeted.

As we noted at the time of Samidoun’s designation:

“Like the Zionist entity fears the Palestinian resistance, so do the imperialist powers fear the Palestinian diaspora and their supporters that have been rising up again and again, especially since the start of operation Al-Aqsa Flood and the Zionist genocide. They fear a strong, popular movement that threatens their economic and political interests in Palestine and the region.”

Once again, the imperialist powers are making clear that they are more than willing to carry out intense repression, criminalization and imprisonment in order to aid and abet genocide. We urge the movement for Palestine — in Italy, throughout Europe, and internationally — to rally around all of the targeted individuals and organizations, and to not allow the tactics of state terror and fear to divide us.

Further, it is long past time for all Palestinian, Lebanese and regional resistance organizations — let alone charitable, community, activist and humanitarian initiatives — to be removed from so-called “terrorist lists” — in Italy, in Europe, in the U.S. and around the world. The Palestinian people, and all occupied peoples, have the right to resist their occupation, to defend themselves, to liberate their land, and to organize to achieve those goals.

For the solidarity movement’s work to be meaningful and effective, it must act to support the Palestinian Resistance organizations — and, indeed, to coordinate with them on the broadest possible level. We must redouble our efforts to escalate our resistance and globalize the intifada in the streets of the cities of the world, for the freedom of all of our prisoners in Zionist and imperialist jails, and for the freedom of Palestine, from the river to the sea.

On 14 January 2026, three of the Prisoners for Palestine — Heba Muraisi, Kamran Ahmad and Lewie C. — announced that they were ending their hunger strike (as they approached imminent death), following the announcement by the British government that Elbit Systems had been denied a £2 billion army training contract with the Ministry of Defence, after widespread reporting that Elbit would receive the contract. Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network salutes the Prisoners for Palestine and all of the hunger strikers on this important achievement and upon their sacrifice in the struggle for Palestinian liberation.

At the same time, Umer Khalid, another Prisoner for Palestine and one of the Brize Norton 5, has resumed his hunger strike. He has been repeatedly held in solitary confinement and denied his religious rights, while being held on remand for a trial that is not scheduled until January 2027. Umer says, “We must now continue to crush the protective skull of Zionism, which is the UK’s political and military support, under the weight of our collective mobilisation and action. Are you on the outside afraid of consequences when this life is so short? So let them keep us here as long as they want, because you can’t imprison resistance and you can’t kill a revolution. Liberation is a promise and victory is coming insha’Allah.” Umer previously conducted a hunger strike from 4-16 December 2025. It is urgent that we continue to support Umer Khalid and all of the prisoners for Palestine in British and other imperialist jails, imprisoned as part and parcel of imperialist complicity with Zionist genocide in Palestine.

STATEMENT – PRISONERS 4 PALESTINE – 14 JANUARY 2026

After 73 days of hunger strikes which began on Balfour Day, 2 November 2025, as some prisoners are facing imminent death, Heba Muraisi, Kamran Ahmed, and Lewie have ended their hunger strikes.

The decision to end their hunger strikes came as it was revealed that Elbit Systems UK was denied a vital £2 billion army training contract with the Ministry of Defence, a key demand of the hunger strikers.

The contract, which would have seen Elbit Systems provide training to the British Army over ten years, was lost despite the best efforts of officials in both the Ministry of Defence and the British Army, who it was revealed had been colluding with both Elbit Systems UK and its parent company Elbit Systems in backroom meetings and ‘tours’ to the capital of Palestine, Jerusalem, in a desperate attempt to further entrench their genocidal alliance and help them win the contract.

The abrupt cancellation of this deal is a resounding victory for the hunger strikers, who resisted with their incarcerated bodies in order to shed light on the role of Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer, in the colonization and occupation of Palestine. Since 2012, Elbit has won 25 public contracts in the UK totaling more than £333 million; the loss of this £2 billion contract marks a significant shift in this sordid “strategic alliance.” With this victory, it has never been clearer that Elbit’s days in Britain are numbered.

In addition to this key demand being met, we want to take this opportunity to celebrate the various victories achieved throughout the duration of the hunger strike:

In the past few weeks alone, hundreds of people have signed up to take action against the genocidal military-industrial complex, more than the number of people who took action with Palestine Action over its five-year campaign. During that five-year campaign, Israeli weapons factories were shut down. Elbit Systems is living on stolen time—we will see it shut down for good, not because of the government, but because of the people.

Heba Muraisi’s transfer to HMP Bronzefield has been accepted by HMP New Hall, where she is currently being held in intentional isolation from her family and friends.

T. Hoxha has been offered a meeting with the head of JEXU (Joint Extremism Unit) at her prison, the very same organization that orchestrates the prisoners’ treatment as ‘terrorists’.

Despite the cruel and constant medical neglect of the hunger strikers, including not logging food refusals, refusal of ambulances in life-threatening emergencies, and degrading treatment in hospitals, the national heads of prison healthcare have met with us at the behest of the Ministry of Justice.

During the hunger strike, some of the prisoners started receiving bulk packages of withelped mail, and in one case received an apology from prison staff for a letter that was delayed by six months. Books on topics of Gaza and feminism have also been given after months of waiting.

In pursuit of a fair trial, the hunger strikers demanded disclosure of export licenses for the last 5 years from Elbit Systems. After repeated requests, this information was disclosed to an independent researcher by the Department of Trade during the hunger strike.

The continued printing of the blood will remain on the stain on Britain’s facade of being a “democratic” country, with no sliver of law and order.

This pathetic and cowardly British government cannot resist authoritarianism; it uses fear to deter rightful protest and dissent, echoing the use of administrative detention against the Palestinian people.

The hunger strike has cemented this fact to the country, and across the world: Britain has political prisoners in service of a foreign genocidal regime. In a time of worsening political repression and widespread propaganda about a non-existent ‘ceasefire’ in Gaza, the hunger strike stands as a testament to continued defiance.

The hunger strikers have allowed those of us who were fearful of state repression to be brave—to go out once again onto the streets and fight for justice. The government should know they cannot ban a concept. Cowardly banning one group cannot stop a belief, a movement, a people. This is only the start of our collective fight to free us all, and the road to freedom runs through Palestine.

At the end of his hunger strike, on Elbit losing the £2 billion contract, Lewie said:

It is definitely a time for celebration. A time to rejoice and to embrace our joy as revolution and as liberation… We do this because of Palestine, because we’ve been inspired, because we’ve been tempted to take action and to try to realize our dreams for a free Palestine, for an emancipated world.

As these victories are declared, we turn our efforts and attention to Umer Khalid, the last remaining hunger striker, who continues to use his body as a weapon against the state in pursuit of justice.