Pro-Palestine activism facing suppression in Europe, Muslim groups warn
Muslim civil society organisations have raised the alarm about a rising tide of state suppression of pro-Palestinian activism across Europe at a major security conference in Poland.
Speakers at this week’s Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s (OSCE) Warsaw Human Dimension Conference have included Elias d’Imzalene, a prominent French Muslim activist set to stand trial later this month over a speech in which he called for “intifada in Paris” during a pro-Palestine demonstration in September.
Addressing the conference on Monday, d’Imzalene said France had become “the spearhead of Islamophobia and discrimination in Europe”.
“This year, to make sure it remains ahead of the game, any activist calling for a ceasefire in Gaza is being severely persecuted. The state seeks to silence their voice by any means necessary,” d’Imzalene said, speaking on behalf of Perspectives Musulmanes, a French Muslim advocacy organisation.
D’Imzalene was arrested and held in custody over a speech at a protest in the French capital on 8 September in which he asked the crowd: “Are we ready to lead the intifada in Paris? In our suburbs? In our neighbourhoods?”
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Released under judicial supervision, he is due to be tried at Paris’s criminal court on 23 October charged with public incitement to hatred or violence based on origin, ethnicity, nation, race or religion.
The word “intifada” is an Arabic term meaning uprising, resistance or rebellion. It was used in the Palestinian context to name the first uprising against Israel’s occupation in 1987-1993 and the second one in 2000-2005.
In a joint statement issued on Tuesday, groups from the UK, France, Sweden, Austria, and Denmark said there had been an “undeniable increase in the suppression and criminalisation of forms of resistance to Israeli atrocities in Gaza”, citing the arrests of activists and protesters, restrictions on freedom of speech and the dissolution and banning of organisations.
This continent-wide crackdown had exposed “at worrying decline in the promotion and protection of human rights”, they warned.
'Hypocrisy rather than democracy'
Addressing the conference, Shezana Hafiz, outreach coordinator at the UK-based campaign group Cage international, accused the UK government of compromising civil liberties and judicial independence while continuing to support arms exports to Israel.
"To allow Israel to prevail with impunity is one of the darkest stains of our time," said Hafiz.
The current Labour government, which took office in July, suspended 30 out of 350 arms exports licences to Israel last month but has faced criticism for failing to go further, such as by imposing restrictions on exports of parts for Israeli F-35 fighter jets which have been used to carry out air strikes in Gaza.
'Today, in the UK, we have political prisoners'
- Shezana Hafiz, Cage
“Today, in the UK, we have political prisoners,” Hafiz said, citing the cases of Palestine Action activists arrested over direct action protests targeting companies the group accuses of involvement in supplying weapons to Israel.
The OSCE describes itself as “the world’s largest regional security organisation”, drawing together 57 member states from Europe, Central Asia and North America.
It was established in 1975 primarily to promote dialogue and dampen tensions between countries in Europe then on either side of the Cold War divide.
The human dimension conference is attended by representatives from governments, international organisations and civil society, and is described by the OSCE as an opportunity to “to take stock of the state of democracy, human rights and the rule of law” in member states.
Opening the conference last week, Myriam Spiteri Debono, the president of Malta, which currently chairs the organisation, said: “At the present time more than ever respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms should not be just our aspiration. It is our responsibility, and it has to have our full commitment.”
But, addressing the conference, Amanj Aziz, a spokesperson for Swedish Muslim advocacy organisation Insan, said it felt “surreal… being here after watching the majority of the western world’s blatant disregard for basic human rights and violations of these rights over the past year”.
“It is absurd to be sitting in this room with delegates who support the ongoing genocide in Palestine, who censor and arrest protesters in their own countries, and to be surrounded by flags of countries who have come to symbolise hypocrisy rather than democracy.”
The International Court of Justice is currently hearing a case brought by South Africa which accuses Israel of genocide in Gaza, a charge Israel denies.
The ICJ also ruled earlier this year in an advisory opinion for the United Nations that Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories is illegal and must end as soon as possible.
Israel is also currently being investigated by the International Criminal Court over allegations of war crimes committed by its forces in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories.
In their statement, the Muslim organisations criticised global institutions and European countries for failing to hold Israel to account.
They called on the OSCE to “enforce mechanisms to compel governments to adhere to international law otherwise it condemns itself as an inept institution”.
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