South African solidarity event to launch international Free Marwan Barghouthi campaign

26 October 2013

This Sunday, 27 October, the international “Free Marwan Barghouthi and all Palestinian prisoners” campaign will be launched from the historic South African landmark of Robben Island, where anti-apartheid struggle icons Nelson Mandela, Govan Mbeki, Walter Sisulu, Ahmed Kathrada and others were imprisoned during Apartheid in South Africa.

The Palestinian based Popular Campaign for the Release of Marwan Barghouti and all Palestinian Political Prisoners and the South African based Ahmed Kathrada Foundation are the primary organisers of the Robben Island launch event. Ahmed Kathrada launched the “Free Nelson Mandela and all South African Political Prisoners” campaign in 1962, just prior to his own arrest and subsequent imprisonment with Nelson Mandela and others on Robben Island (click here for a short video by actor Morgan Freeman on the life and legacy of Ahmed Kathrada:www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7c_Kg2hp5c). Now half a century later, the 84-year-old anti-apartheid struggle veteran, is launching yet another campaign for an iconic freedom fighter, Marwan Barghouti, commonly dubbed “Palestine’s Mandela” (www.bdssouthafrica.com/2011/10/freeing-palestines-mandela-marwan.html). Barghouti is one of the most prominent –of over 5000– Palestinian political prisoners currently detained in Israeli prisons and jails.

On Sunday, from Robben Island, BDS South Africa will also be announcing and detailing an upcoming South African boycott campaign against G4S Security, the international security company contracted in 2007 to equip and service Israeli prisons, torture centres and detention facilities where Marwan Barghouti and other Palestinian political detainees are held (www.whoprofits.org/company/g4s-israel-hashmira).

Following Sunday’s Robben Island launch, public events will be held in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg.

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LAUNCH OF “FREE MARWAN BARGHOUTI AND ALL PALESTINIAN POLITICAL PRISONERS” CAMPAIGN AND BDS-SA ANNOUNCEMENT OF “G4S BOYCOTT”
WHERE: Robben Island, Cape Town, South Africa
WHEN: Sunday, 27 October 2013
TIME: Starting from 09h00
RSVP: Event full.

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CAPE TOWN PALESTINE PRISONER SOLIDARITY RALLY
DAY: Sunday, 27 October
TIME: 18h00
WHERE: Drommedaris Hall, Good Hope Centre
ADDRESS: Christiaan Barnard Street, Cape Town
CONTACT: 0823731143
COST: FREE

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DURBAN PALESTINE PRISONER SOLIDARITY RALLY
DAY: Tuesday, 29 October
TIME: 19h00
WHERE: Durban Art Gallery, Durban City Hall
ADDRESS: 2nd Floor, Durban Art Gallery, Durban City Hall, Anton Lembede Street (Smith St.), Durban
CONTACT: 0823731143
COST: FREE

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DURBAN PALESTINE PRISONER FUNDRAISING DINNER
DAY: Wednesday, 30 October
TIME: 18h30
WHERE: NMJ Hall
ADDRESS: Mountain View Avenue (off Hendry Road), Morningside, Durban
CONTACT AND RSVP: 0823731143 / 0827757860
COST: R300 pp

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JOHANNESBURG PALESTINE PRISONER SOLIDARITY RALLY
DAY: Thursday, 31 October
TIME: 18h30
WHERE: Baitun Noor Centre
ADDRESS: Topaas Street, Extension 5, Lenasia
CONTACT: 0823731143
COST: FREE

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JOHANNESBURG PALESTINE PRISONER & HUMAN RIGHTS SYMPOSIUM
DAY: Saturday, 02 November
TIME: 09h00
WHERE: Constitutional Hill, Braamfontein
CONTACT: 0823731143
HOSTS: The Foundation for Human Rights, Constitutional Hill and the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation
COST: FREE

The Robben Island launch and follow up events in Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg will be addressed by Ms. Fadwa Bargouti (wife of Marwan Barghouti and head of the Palestinian based Popular Campaign for the Release of Marwan Barghouti & All Palestinian Political Prisoners), Azzam Ahmad (Former Palestinian Deputy Prime Minister and Head of the Palestinian delegation to the international Inter-Parliamentary Union), Qaddura Fares (Former Palestinian Minister of Detainees), Majed Bamya (Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Shawqi Issa (Director of Ensan, the Palestinian Centre for Democracy and Human Rights), Sahar Francis (Director of Addameer, the Palestinian Prisoner Support & Human Rights Association), Helmi Al Araj (Director of Hurriyat), Nasser Alrayyes (Al Haq, the Palestinian Human Rights Organization), Yasser Amouri (Birzeit University) and Luisa Morgantini (the former Vice President of the European Parliament). The Palestinian delegates will be accompanied by Ahmed Kathrada and a host of other former South African political prisoners.

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Marwan Barghouthi (54) is known as the ‘Palestinian Mandela’. At the age of 15, Barghouthi joined the Palestinian political party, Fatah, where he co-founded the Fatah Youth Movement. At the age of 18, in 1976, Barghouthi was first arrested by Israel for involvement in Palestinian political and resistance groups. Barghouthi completed his secondary education and received a high school diploma while he was in jail.

Once released, Barghouthi became a member of the Palestinian parliament, where he served until he was abducted and arrested in 2002 by the Israeli army and thereafter tried, convicted and sentenced to five life sentences. The international Inter-Parliamentary Union has subsequently found that Barghouthi’s abduction, arrest and transfer to Israeli territory was in violation of international law and has, together with other international human rights organisations, called for his immediate release. At his trial in 2002, Barghouthi did not participate in its proceedings. Instead, he refused to recognise the legitimacy of the Israeli courts and maintained that his abduction and the Israeli trial were illegal and illegitimate. From within prison, he pursued his efforts for Palestinian unity and freedom, including through his central role in the elaboration of the prisoners’ document for national reconciliation.

Over 750 000 Palestinians (roughly 40% of Palestinian men) have been imprisoned by Israel at one point in time. About 100 000 Palestinians have been held by Israel in “administrative detention” (the equivalent of Apartheid South Africa’s “Detention without trial”). In the last 11 years alone, more than 7500 Palestinian children have been detained in Israeli prisons and detention facilities (including being held in solitary confinement) with Muhammad Daoud Dirbas, at the age of six, being the youngest Palestinian child to have been detained by Israeli soldiers – such practices are considered illegal under international law. Similar to the experience of Black families under Apartheid, almost every Palestinian family has been affected by the Israeli imprisonment of a relative. Currently, as of October 2013, there are over 5000 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel; 137 of them are being held under Israel’s “administrative detention” (Apartheid South Africa’s “Detention Without Trial”) and 180 of them are children. Click here to read the 2012 United Nations report on Israel’s detention of Palestinian children: http://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=12375&LangID=E

In 2007 the international security company, G4S, was contracted to provide and maintain Israeli prisons, torture centres and detention facilities. Although claiming that it intends to terminate its Israeli contracts, G4S still operates in Israel and with the Israeli regime. G4S also provides equipment and services to Israeli checkpoints and Israel’s illegal Jewish-only settlements in the occupied Palestinian West Bank (click here to download the United Nations Special Rapporteur report with details of G4S and its illegal activities in Israel [Pages 15 & 16]: http://t.ymlp289.net/jemsacauubhmakaumhakamseb/click.php). More information on the South African G4S boycott together with campaign material and ways in which members of the public can get involved will be distributed shortly after the Robben Island launch and official announcement of the South African “G4S Boycott” campaign…

The launch of this International Campaign follows a visit by Ahmed Kathrada to Palestine earlier this year. On his return, Kathrada, who himself spent 26 years imprisoned on Robben Island during Apartheid, said: “I believe the International Community has a moral, legal and political responsibility to secure the freedom of Marwan Barghouthi and all Palestinian political prisoners…hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have experienced imprisonment at a certain point in their lives, in one of the most striking examples of mass detention in recent history. Some of these prisoners have spent over 30 years in Israeli jails … the freedom of the Palestinian people is intricately linked to the freedom of Palestinian political prisoners.”

Africans Support Rasmea! Statement from the United African Organization

26 October 2013

Leaders and members of the United African Organization (UAO) stand in solidarity with Sister Rasmea Yousef Odeh, Associate Director of the Arab American Action Network. Together, we express our unflinching support for this remarkable advocate and distinguished leader whose passion for public service and dedication to community empowerment embody the highest ideals of American democratic values. As a champion of human rights and dignity for all people, Sister Rasmea gives voice to the aspirations of the vulnerable and marginalized with a principled focus on building bridges among diverse constituencies and promoting the vision of an inclusive, just and tolerant society. She is a respected and selfless leader who enjoys a deep sea of admiration in the African, Arab, Asian, Latino and faith communities in Illinois.

Our support for Sister Rasmea stems from our intimate knowledge of her inspiring and demonstrable record over the years in promoting citizenship and civic engagement, as well as providing programmatic management of vital social services in the Arab and Muslim community.

We hope and pray that Sister Rasmea will continue to serve her beloved community in peace and dignity! She is not athreat to anyone, and her work here encapsulate her commitment to Dr. Martin Luther King’s call to serve and support each other in the interwoven fabric of our common destiny as Americans.

Alie Kabba, Executive Director
United African Organization

Chicago protest demands “Drop the charges against Rasmea Odeh”

26 October 2013

We are re-circulating the following article from Fight Back News Service on protest in Chicago on Thursday, October 24, demanding the charges against Rasmea Odeh be dropped:

Chicago protest demands “Drop the charges against Rasmea Odeh”

rasmea-protest — (Photo by Bill Chambers)

Chicago, IL – About 50 people protested here, Oct. 24, to oppose Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people and also to call for the U.S. government to drop charges against local Palestinian activist, Rasmea Odeh. The demonstration took place outside the Chicago Hilton where a fundraising event for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) was held.

Odeh was arrested at her home the morning of Oct. 22 by agents of the Department of Homeland Security on allegations of an immigration violation.

According to Hatem Abudayyeh of U.S. Palestinian Community Network-Chicago, “The IDF enforces Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and siege of Gaza. Now the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice are enforcers of that illegal occupation as well.” He added, “We will raise our voices to oppose this fundraiser and to show our support for Rasmea Odeh. Her voice and ours won’t be silenced.”

Odeh is a well-known activist in the Palestinian community and is a symbol of the enduring spirit of the Palestinians in the face of years of oppression at the hands of the Israeli occupation.

The protest was sponsored by the Palestine Solidarity Group-Chicago, Jewish Voice for Peace-Chicago, American Muslims for Palestine, U.S. Palestinian Community Network-Chicago, Committee for a Just Peace in Israel and Palestine, Anti-War Committee-Chicago, Code Pink-Chicago and the ANSWER Coalition-Chicago.

NSJP stands in solidarity with Rasmea Yousef Odeh and all victims of political repression

26 October 2013

Rasmea0e385a The following statement was issued by Students for Justice in Palestine (National) in the United States, demanding an end to the persecution of Rasmea Odeh by federal officials and linking it to ongoing political repression.

On October 22, 2013, Rasmea Yousef, a 66-year-old Palestinian activist, was arrested at her Chicago home by agents of the Department of Homeland Security. As students, we stand in solidarity with Ms. Yousef. We consider both her arrest and the charges against her to be illegitimate, and see them for what they are: acts of political repression.

Rasmea Yousef is a well-known and beloved member of Chicago’s Palestinian community. She is the associate director of the Arab American Action Network, and the founder of its Arab Women’s Committee. In 2013, she was named an Outstanding Community Leader by the Chicago Cultural Alliance, and she is a regular at Palestine solidarity events throughout the city. Her community organizing and contributions to Palestine solidarity work have made an enormous impact in Chicago. Today, Ms. Yousef, an integral part of our community and an inspirational woman, faces the possibility of deportation and up to ten years in prison.

The arrest of Ms. Yousef is part of an ongoing campaign of repression by the US government against those organizing in opposition to Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people. Her arrest appears to be connected to a secret investigation that began in 2010, in which twenty-three Palestine and Anti-War activists, including university students, were subpoenaed to a grand jury. Assistant U.S. Attorney Barry Jonas, who is leading the investigation against the twenty-three, was at the courtroom in Chicago Tuesday morning. Just as as we condemned the 2010 investigation as part of US government witch-hunt, we condemn this recent incident.

Upon her arrest, Ms. Yousef was charged with immigration fraud for allegedly omitting the fact that she was arrested by Israeli forces in 1969 from her citizenship application. These charges rely on the verdict of an illegitimate Israeli military court and prison system, which has been investigated and condemned countless times by Human Rights Watch, theUnited Nations, Amnesty International, Defence for Children International, and other human rights and prisoners rights organizations, which have demanded an end to its unjust practices. Such practices include the arrest without charge or trial, and subsequent torture, of Palestinian men, women, and children.

Though the arrest of Rasmea Yousef is part of a campaign of political intimidation, we refuse to be deterred from our work. National Students for Justice in Palestine condemns the arrest of and charges against Ms. Yousef. We stand in solidarity with Ms. Yousef, just as we stand with all those affected by the destructive nature of political repression, racism, imperialism, and violence that occurs as a result of US domestic and foreign policies. We will continue to act in solidarity with those who struggle against these systems of oppression, as we feel their effects in our own communities, both in the US and abroad.

National Lawyers Guild demands charges against Rasmea Odeh be dropped

26 October 2013

The following Resolution was adopted by the National Lawyers Guild on October 26, 2013 at its 76th Convention in San Juan, Puerto Rico, demanding that charges against Palestinian American activist Rasmea Odeh be dropped immediately, strongly condemning her arrest.

The National Lawyers Guild, founded in 1937, is the oldest and largest public interest/human rights bar organization in the United States. Its headquarters are in New York and it has chapters in every state.

EMERGENCY RESOLUTION IN OPPOSITION TO RASMEA YOUSEF ODEH’S ARREST BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

WHEREAS the Department of Homeland Security arrested Rasmea Yousef Odeh, a longtime and well-respected Palestinian activist in the United States, at her home on October 22, 2013, alleging an immigration violation on a 20-year-old application;

WHEREAS Ms. Odeh, a 65-year-old Palestinian woman, is a leading member of Chicago’s Arab and Muslim communities and has changed the lives of thousands of people through a decade of service in the city of Chicago;

WHEREAS Ms. Odeh has been with Chicago’s Arab American Action Network since 2004 and, as associate director, manages its Arab Women’s Committee, which plays a leading role in defending people’s civil liberties and immigrant rights;

WHEREAS Ms. Odeh received the “Outstanding Community Leader Award” from the Chicago Cultural Alliance, which described her as a woman who has “dedicated over 40 years of her life to the empowerment of Arab women, first in her homes of Palestine, Jordan, and Lebanon, where she was an activist and practicing attorney, and then the past 10 years in Chicago;”

WHEREAS the politically motivated charges against Ms. Odeh stem from her arrest and detention by the Israeli Occupation Forces in 1969, resulting from a military trial of a civilian under the auspices of an Israeli apartheid system that systematically denies Palestinians even a modicum of due process and civil rights;

WHEREAS Ms. Odeh was held in solitary confinement and tortured while in Israeli prison for ten years;

WHEREAS Ms. Odeh’s arrest is yet another manifestation of the federal government’s campaign against activists promoting justice in the Arab and Muslim world and advocating a change in U.S. foreign policy toward Palestine;

WHEREAS the United States government should not use its own laws and criminal justice system to enforce Israel’s apartheid system on Ms. Odeh and all other Palestinians and Arabs living in the United States;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD,

MEETING AT ITS OCTOBER 2013 CONVENTION IN PUERTO RICO, condemns in the strongest terms Ms. Odeh’s arrest on the grounds that it is an egregious abuse of prosecutorial discretion and a part of systematic attempts to intimidate Arabs and Muslims in the United States from organizing within their communities for civil rights, social justice and Palestinian self-determination, and unequivocally urges that all charges against Ms. Odeh be dropped immediately in the interest of justice.

IMPLEMENTATION: This resolution, upon adoption by this body, will be presented to Barbara McQuade, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, urging her to immediately drop all charges against Ms. Odeh now, and publicized by the Palestine Subcommittee.

SUBMITTED BY: Andrew Dalack, ajdalack@gmail.com, Charlotte Kates charlotte.kates@gmail.com, National Lawyers Guild Palestine Subcommittee

Adopted by the National Lawyers Guild

October 26, 2013

76^th Convention, San Juan, Puerto Rico

November 14/15: Criminalizing Peoples’ Liberation Movements: Scrap the so-called terrorist list – Vancouver

26 October 2013

From Ts’Peten to Tamil Eelam: Liberation Struggles are not Terrorism!

RED SPARKS UNION presents…

Criminalizing Peoples’ Liberation Movements:
Scrap the so-called terrorist list

Public Forum and Discussion

Thursday, November 14, 7:00 p.m.
Kwantlen Polytechnic University, 12666 72nd Ave, Surrey, BC

Friday, November 15, 7:00 p.m.
SFU Harbour Centre, 555 W. Hastings St, Vancouver, BC

How is anti-terror legislation being used to criminalize peoples’ liberation movements from Palestine to South Asia to Indigenous people in BC?
How are immigrant and refugee communities and Indigenous peoples affected by these policies?
Why is the Canadian state so determined to label people’s liberation struggles as terrorism?
What can we do to break through the chill and support peoples’ genuine struggles for liberation and social & economic justice?

Speakers

Khaled Barakat: The impact of ‘terror’ designations and lists on Arab people’s struggles and Arab communities in Canada.
Kerry Coast: Terrorist labeling of Indigenous peoples’ struggles: Ts’Peten (Gustafsen Lake) to today
Charlotte Kates: Terrorist designations and lists in historical context.
Pragash Pio: The ‘war on terror’, repression of the Tamil national liberation struggle & criminalization of the Tamil community in Canada.
Jeff Shantz: Canadian ‘anti-terror’ legislation: targeting people’s liberation struggles.

Speaker Bios

Khaled Barakat is a Palestinian activist, journalist and writer based in Vancouver. His writing on current events and Palestinian issues are widely published in Arabic media.

Kerry Coast is a journalist, dramatist and activist from unceded indigenous territories on the North West Pacific Coast, now called British Columbia, Canada. Coast is just returning from New York where she served for the third time as representative for International Human Rights Association of American Minorities at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, and from Geneva at the Human Rights Council’s 6th Session of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Her recently published book, The Colonial Present: The rule of ignorance and the role of law in British Columbia, is about the ongoing process of colonization, criminalization and forced assimilation of Indigenous peoples in BC.

Charlotte Kates is an organizer with the Boycott Israeli Apartheid Campaign (BIAC) and SAMIDOUN Political Prisoners Network. She has practiced as a lawyer in the United States and is a member of the National Lawyers Guild International Committee.

Pragash Pio is on the executive committee of BASICS Community News Service and a community organizers with Radio BASICS, the May 1st Movement (M1M) and the International League of Peoples Struggles in Toronto.

Jeff Shantz is a Professor in the criminology department at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, a member of the Critical Criminology Working Group and editor of the journal, Radical Criminology.

for more info: info@redsparks.org

Take Action: Outrageous arrest in Chicago. Stop the repression of Palestinian activists.

24 October 2013

Take action to support Rasmea Odeh, Palestinian American activist and community leader – and former political prisoner – politically targeted by the US government.

The following actions were issued by the Committee to Stop FBI Repression (stopfbi.net)

SIGN ON: Online Petition to Support Rasmea: http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/drop-the-charges-against?source=c.url&r_by=9356477

Facebook Pages to Support Rasmea:

English: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Drop-The-Charges-Against-Rasmea-Now/678264732186412

Arabic: https://www.facebook.com/pages/%D9%85%D8%AA%D8%B6%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%86%D8%A9-%D9%85%D8%B9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B6%D9%84%D8%A9-%D8%B1%D8%B3%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%8A%D9%88%D8%B3%D9%81-%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%AF%D8%A9/534098690010938

Outrageous arrest in Chicago. Stop the repression of Palestinian activists.

A Palestinian woman, Rasmieh Odeh, was arrested at her home this morning, Oct. 22, by agents of the Department of Homeland Security.

She is charged with immigration fraud. Allegedly, in her application for citizenship, she didn’t mention that she was arrested in Palestine 45 years ago by an Israeli military court that detains Palestinians without charge – a court that has over 200 children in prison today and does not recognize the rights of Palestinians to due process.

The arrest today appears to be related to the case of the 23 anti-war activistssubpoenaed to a grand jury in 2010. Well-known labor, community and international solidarity activists around the Midwest had their homes raided by the FBI when the U.S. attorney alleged that they had provided material support to foreign terrorist organizations in Palestine and Colombia.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Barry Jonas is leading the investigation against the 23. He was at the courtroom in Chicago this morning, consulting with the assistant U.S. attorney who was presenting the indictment to the judge. Jonas was also the prosecutor in the case of the Holy Land Five, the heads of the largest Muslim charity in the U.S. before 9/11. He was successful in getting prison sentences for as long as 65 years for the five men, who provided charity to children in Gaza.

The Committee to Stop FBI Repression (CSFR) denounces this attack as another example of the continuing repression of Palestinians and people who stand in solidarity with them. Homeland Security, the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Attorney’s office now are carrying out enforcement of the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

Odeh will appear in court in Detroit on Nov. 1, where she will be represented by Jim Fennerty of the National Lawyers Guild. CSFR urges people to attend the proceedings at the Federal Court in Detroit in her defense.

Send photos of support for Rasmea!

Support Rasmea!
Send us your pictures

Right now we want to get Rasmea’s story out there! We are calling on everyone to send us their picture holding up the following message:

‘I am ________ and I support Rasmea!’

You can fill in the blank with any self-identifier: your name, your occupation, or any other description. Some examples may be:

“I am a stay-at-home dad and I support Rasmea!”

“I am a youth organizer and I support Rasmea!”

“I am a supporter of Palestinian human rights and I support Rasmea!”

Hold the sign up and snap a selfie, then send it to cppr@aaan.org.
Put it up as your Facebook/Twitter profile pic, Google Account image, or anything else!
Just remember we may use your image in future publications and informational pamphlets that get published online or distributed as hard copies.

OMCT: Israel: Release on bail of lawyer Anas Barghouthi but judicial harassment continues

24 October 2013

The following statement was released by the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH):

October 24, 2013

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), has received new information regarding the following situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

New information:

The Observatory has been informed by the Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association about the release on bail of Mr. Anas Anise Hussein Barghouthi, a Palestinian human rights lawyer who defends Palestinian political prisoners arrested by Israel and the Palestinian Authority[1].

According to the information received, on October 22, 2013, the Ofer Military Court Judge issued an order to release Mr. Anas Barghouthi on a 12,000 NIS bail (about 2,475 euros), giving the prosecution 24 hours to appeal this decision. As the military prosecution decided not to appeal the release order, Mr. Barghouthi was released on October 23, 2013 from Ofer Military Prison in Betunia at around 9:30pm, after paying the bail.

The Observatory welcomes the Ofer Military Court Judge’s decision, and thanks all the persons, institutions and organisations who intervened in his favour. However, the Observatory remains concerned that charges remain pending against Mr. Barghouthi, which seem to be directly linked to his human rights activities, and urges the Israeli authorities to put an end to all acts of harassment against him.

Background information:

On September 15, 2013, at around 7pm, Mr. Anas Barghouthi was arrested by an officer of the Israeli General Security Services (Shabak) and four Israeli army soldiers as he was attempting to cross the“Container” military checkpoint between Bethlehem and Ramallah, where he was handcuffed and then taken to an interrogation room at the military checkpoint. Around 9:30pm, he was brought to aninterrogation centre in the settlement of Etzion, in the southern West Bank. In the first 36 hours of arrest, Mr. Anas Barghouthi was fed only twice and was not allowed to shower or change his clothes neither he was given hygiene products. In addition, his lawyer was not able to have access to his client during the first week of his detention.

On September 17, 2013, Mr. Anas Barghouthi was transferred to Ofer Military Complex and presented to the Military Court of Ofer, which decided to extend his detention without charges until September 22, 2013, when the detention period was extended again until September 24.

On September 24, 2013, Mr. Anas Barghouthi was finally charged with the offences of “membership inan unlawful association” (the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, an organisation banned by Israel), and “leadership of a committee to organise demonstrations”, under Articles 85(1)(a) and (b) of the 1945 Defence (Emergency) Regulations. Mr. Anas Barghouthi denies both charges. A first hearing was held on October 1, 2013, when the trial was postponed until October 9, 2013. On that day, the trial was again postponed until October 22 because by the time he was presented to a judge, and despite the fact that Mr. Anas Barghouthi had been waiting at Ofer Military Court for several hours, he was informed that the court was closing and it was too late to hold the hearing.

Actions requested:

Please write to the authorities of Israel, urging them to:

i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Anas Anise Hussein Barghouthi as well as of all human rights defenders in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory;

ii. Put an end to all acts of harassment – including at the judicial level – against Mr. Anas Barghouthi, as well as against all human rights defenders and human rights organisations in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory so that they are able to carry out their work without unjustified hindrances;

iii. Comply with all the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1998, in particular:

– its Article 1, which provides that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”,

– its Article 12.2, which states that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”;

iv. More generally, ensure in all circumstances the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and with international human rights instruments ratified by Israel.

Addresses

Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, Office of the Prime Minister, 3 Kaplan St., PO Box 187, Kiryat Ben-Gurion, Jerusalem 91950, Israel. Fax: + 972 2 651 2631 / 02-670-5475. Email: b.netanyahu@pmo.gov.il, pm_eng@pmo.gov.il
Moshe Ya’alon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Ministry of Defence 37 Kaplan Street, Hakirya, Tel Aviv 61909, Israel. Fax: +972 3 691 6940, (+972) 3 696 2757.
Brigadier General Danny Efroni, Military Judge Advocate General, 6 David Elazar Street, Hakirya, Tel Aviv, Israel, Fax: +972 3 569 4526, Email: avimn@idf.gov.il
H.E. Ambassador Mr. Eviatar Manor, Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations in Geneva, Avenue de la Paix 1-3, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland. Fax: +41 22 716 05 55. Email:mission-israel@geneva.mfa.gov.il

Please also write to the diplomatic representations of Israel in your respective countries.

***

Geneva-Paris, October 24, 2013

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

The Observatory, an OMCT and FIDH venture, is dedicated to the protection of human rights defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.

To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:

E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
Tel and fax OMCT + 41 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29
Tel and fax FIDH + 33 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80

Statement: 51 Rights Groups stand against the indictment of Palestinian-American activist Rasmea Odeh

24 October 2013

The persecution of Palestinian American community leader Rasmea Odeh is highly political. It is a revictimization and a clear effort of political repression against the Palestinian community.

October 23, 2013

The below-signed organizations are deeply disturbed by and stand opposed to the indictment yesterday of Rasmea Yousef Odeh, a Palestinian-American community activist who has dedicated 10 years to the Chicago Arab-American community, working with women on issues ranging from promoting literacy and political education to addressing domestic violence and anti-Arab and Muslim sentiment.

Rasmea’s indictment for alleged immigration fraud comes at a time when advocates for Palestinian rights and immigration rights activists have been facing increasing pressure all over the country. Exactly three years ago, 23 anti-war and Palestinian rights activists were subpoenaed to testify before a Grand Jury, and several of their homes were raided by the FBI. There have been no indictments against the 23 activists subpoenaed in 2010, presumably because of a lack of evidence. It is no coincidence that federal prosecutors are now targeting Rasmea, who is a pillar in the same community.

The 2010 raids, the Grand Jury subpoenas that accompanied them, and this indictment against a 65 year old woman who suffered for a decade in Israeli prisons before coming to the U.S. in 1995, are a clear signal that federal authorities, along with Israel and its supporters in the U.S., are continuing to search for ways to intimidate and silence those who are effective advocates for Arab American communities, and who speak out for Palestinian rights.

In the last year alone, Palestine Solidarity Legal Support, in partnership with the Center for Constitutional Rights, and in collaboration with the National Lawyers Guild and other organizations, has documented over 75 cases of intimidation and legal bullying. These include perceived surveillance, FBI contacts, and discriminatory enforcement of laws against advocates for Palestinian rights. Rasmea’s arrest and indictment must be viewed within this wider context of widespread attempts to intimidate people into silence on one of the most pressing human rights issues of our time. Rasmea’s indictment is also an illustration of increasingly draconian enforcement of immigration laws, which have left immigrant communities devastated at the hands of Obama’s Department of Homeland Security.

Rasmea is an exemplary citizen who recently finished a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice, and has a law degree from Jordan. She has overcome amazing odds after being convicted by the Israeli military court system in 1969 for her alleged association with a leftist Palestinian nationalist group that the U.S. designated a terrorist organization. The military courts operate exclusively to subjugate occupied Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. They routinely bypass all but a modicum of due process, and justify holding individuals without charge or trial for months and years, often in abusive conditions and subject to torture. Rasmea’s activism against the Israeli occupation in the 1960s resulted in her imprisonment in Israeli prisons for 10 years, and it is surely her community activism in the U.S. that has made her, and by extension, the community that relies on her, the target of this indictment.

We call for solidarity with Rasmea as she undergoes a difficult legal battle. Please support Rasmea at her November 1 appearance in federal court in Detroit, Michigan. We are also asking all supporters to call Barbara McQuade, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit, at 313.226.9501 or 313.226.9100, on Friday, October 25th, from 8 AM to 4 PM CST, to demand that she Drop the Charges Now. For further action items, please see the Arab American Action Network alert.

SIGNED:

Al-Awda New York, Palestine right to Return Coalition

American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee

American Muslims for Palestine

Arab Jewish Partnership for Peace and Justice in the Middle East

AROC: Arab Resource & Organizing Center

Bay Area Committee to Stop Political Repression (BACSPR)

Boston Coalition for Palestinian Rights

Boycott Israeli Apartheid Campaign – Vancouver

Brooklyn College Students for Justice in Palestine

Canada Palestine Association

Center for Constitutional Rights

Chicago Movement for Palestinian Rights

College and University Workers United

Committee for a Just Peace in Israel and Palestine

Council on American-Islamic Relations – Chicago

CUNY Law Students for Justice in Palestine

Friends of Deir Ibzi’a

Grassroots Global Justice Alliance

Hampshire College Students for Justice in Palestine

International League of People’s Struggles

INCITE! Women and Trans* People of Color Against Violence

Independent Jewish Voices-Vancouver

Interdenominational Advocates for Peace (IDAP)

International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network

JEWS SAY NO!

Jewish Voice for Peace

Jewish Voice for Peace – Bay Area

Jewish Voice for Peace — Philadelphia

Jews for Palestinian Right of Return

Labor for Palestine

Legalease Collective, CKUT, Montreal

Minnesota Break the Bonds Campaign

Muslim Defense Project of the National Lawyers Guild – New York Chapter

National Lawyers Guild Free Palestine Subcommittee

National Students for Justice in Palestine

New York City Labor Against the War

NYC Queers Against Israeli Apartheid

PAWA: Palestinian American Women’s Association

Palestine Solidarity Group – Chicago

Palestine Solidarity Legal Support

Red Sparks Union – Vancouver

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network

Socialist Action

Solidarity: a socialist, feminist, anti-racist organization

Sunbula: Arab Feminists for Change

The Dream Defenders

US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel

US Palestinian Community Network

WBAI Justice and Unity Campaign

Women of Colour Collective at the McGill Faculty of Law

Voice of Palestine

Support Rasmea Yousef Odeh – Chicago Palestinian Community Leader

24 October 2013

Support Rasmea Yousef Odeh – Chicago Palestinian Community Leader
Tell U.S. Attorney: Drop the Charges Now!

The Palestine Solidarity Group – Chicago calls on all Palestine solidarity activists to support Palestinian community leader Rasmea Yousef Odeh who was vindictively arrested at her home on Tuesday morning by the Department of Homeland Security accused of “immigration fraud”. In her application for citizenship, she allegedly didn’t mention that she was arrested in Palestine 45 years ago by an Israeli military court that routinely detains and tortures Palestinians without charge. The US immigration service has a long history of using immigration forms many years later to deport political activists from many countries including Ireland, Palestine, and Arab and Muslim-majority countries.

Her arrest seems closely related to the case of the 23 anti-war and international solidarity activists subpoenaed to a grand jury in 2010. Well-known labor, community and international solidarity activists around the Midwest had their homes raided by the FBI when the U.S. attorney alleged that they had provided material support to foreign terrorist organizations in Palestine and Colombia. The majority of the 23 targeted in the grand jury investigation are Palestine activists and none of the 23 has ever been charged for anything. Assistant U.S. Attorney Barry Jonas is leading the investigation against the 23 and was at the courtroom in Chicago, consulting with the assistant U.S. attorney who was presenting the indictment to the judge. Jonas was also the prosecutor in the case of the Holy Land Five, the heads of the largest Muslim charity in the U.S. before 9/11. He was successful in getting prison sentences for as long as 65 years for the five men, who provided charity to children in Gaza.

Those of us in the Palestine solidarity movement in Chicago have watched Rasmea work tirelessly over many years for the rights of Palestinians and for all Arab women. We see her arrest as part of a continuing campaign to intimidate and suppress Palestine activism in the US. A vindictive tactic used by a government that will ultimately be unable to stop the international movement for Palestinian rights.

We ask all Palestine activists to call Barbara McQuade, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit, at 313.226.9501 or 313.226.9100, on Friday, October 25th, from 8 AM to 4 PM CST, to demand that she Drop the Charges Now!

Rasmea Yousef Odeh will appear in court in Detroit on Nov. 1. PSG-Chicago urges all activists to attend the court proceedings in Detroit in her defense and be ready to mobilize for more protests of this new assault on Palestine activism.

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Outrageous arrest in Chicago. Stop the repression of Palestinian activists.

A Palestinian woman, Rasmieh Odeh, was arrested at her home this morning, Oct. 22, by agents of the Department of Homeland Security.

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