TRANSLATE
Liebe Nahost-Interessierte,
bitte setzen Sie sich/setzt euch für die Freilassung von Mohammed
Othman ein.
Mohammed arbeitet für "The Grassroots Palestinian Anti-Apartheid
Wall Campaign",
die Partnerorganisation des Deutschen Koordinationskreises Palästina
Israel -
für ein Ende der Besatzung und einen gerechten Frieden.
Anbei ein Foto von Mohammed, das ich 2005 aufgenommen hatte.
Danke für Unterstützung (Vorschläge s. unten im englischen Text)
Wiltrud Rösch-Metzler
*Free Mohammad Othman,*
*Palestine**’s first BDS Prisoner of Conscience!*
On Tuesday, September 22, Mohammad Othman (33 years old)—a
Palestinian
human rights activist and advocate of the non-violent civil society
campaign of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS)—was arrested by
Israeli authorities at the Allenby Crossing, the border terminal
between
Jordan and the occupied Palestinian territory. He was returning from
a
trip to Norway—where he had been promoting BDS—when he was detained,
arrested and then moved to a prison where he is being held for a
military hearing scheduled for next Tuesday.
While Mohammad is only one of the approximately 11,000 Palestinians
held
in Israeli prisons and detention centers, he has become the first
Palestinian to be imprisoned by Israel in response to BDS advocacy
activity. With BDS campaigns around the world gaining momentum,
Israel
has increasingly come under pressure to comply with international
law
and respect Palestinian rights. It is precisely the spectacular rise
in
the effectiveness of the BDS campaign and its successes in the
Western
mainstream that seems to have prompted Israel to take such a
draconian
measure against a prominent and indefatigable BDS activist.
Mohammad has dedicated the last ten years of his life to the defense
of
Palestinian human rights. His village, Jayyous, in the occupied West
Bank, has lost most of its fertile agricultural land to Israel’s
illegal
Wall and colonial settlements. He has campaigned with the
Anti-Apartheid
Wall Campaign against the dispossession of Palestinian farmers and
has
urged for mechanisms of accountability for Israeli violations of
international law and human rights, based on the Palestinian call
for
BDS, issued on 9 July 2005, a year after the International Court of
Justice at the Hague had found Israel’s Wall and colonies illegal.
Mohammad’s trips to Norway—during which he met with senior officials
including Finance Minister Kristen Halvorsen—reflect the increasing
international support for effective mechanisms of upholding
international law and Palestinian rights. Norway’s state Pension
Fund
recently announced that it had divested from Elbit Systems, the
Israeli
company which provides both Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and
other
military technology for Occupation forces as well as security
systems
for the Wall and settlements. The decision came after
representatives of
the fund’s Ethics Council met with Palestinian and Israeli human
rights
activists, including Mohammad, who accompanied them on a tour of
Jayyous
and other West Bank villages affected by the Wall.
Since Israel’s illegal war of aggression on Gaza in December 2008
and
January 2009 that killed over 1400 people, predominantly civilians,
the
BDS movement has grown exponentially and gained wide support among
conscientious individuals, unions and international civil society in
general, as well as among some governments. In the last two weeks,
more
countries have followed Norway’s example. The Brazilian Parliament
has
expressed itself against the ratification of a Free Trade Agreement
with
Israel until a Palestinian state is established, and the government
of
Spain denied settlement-based Ariel University College permission to
participate in a high profile academic architecture competition.
With
the BDS movement making significant gains worldwide, human rights
defenders like Mohammad are likely to be increasingly targeted by
the
Israeli government in its efforts to evade accountability for its
ongoing violations of international law.
*The Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC) calls on all those who
support basic human rights, whether or not they endorse BDS,
international solidarity groups and human rights organizations to
act
urgently to bring attention to this case and apply due pressure to
achieve the immediate and unconditional release of Palestinian human
rights activist Mohammad Othman.*
It is crucial that the international community combat Israeli
attempts
to criminalize human rights activists adopting BDS or any other
popular
struggle aimed at ending violations of international law and
upholding
universal principles of human rights.
*Recommended Actions:*
* *Encourage others to join this campaign through petitions,
demonstrations and / or letter writing / phone calling. Please
provide them with contact information and details;*
* *Urge your representatives at consular offices in** **Tel Aviv
and
Jerusalem/Ramallah to demand the immediate release of Mohammad
Othman. (For your consular contacts, see:
http://www.embassiesabroad.com/embassies-in/Israel#11725);*
* *Let the Israeli Embassy in your country know that you are
campaigning for Mohammad’s release and for a just and lasting
peace based on international law.*
* *Bring the case of Palestine’s first BDS prisoner of conscience
to
the attention of local and national media outlets;*
* *Follow the blog and facebook to free Mohammad Othman to see
the
latest updates and action alerts.*
*Blog:
http://www.freemohammadnow.blogspot.com/*
*Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=36429272741&ref=ts
<http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=36429272741&ref=ts>*
*For more information contact:
freemohammad@bdsmovement.net
<mailto:freemohammad@bdsmovement.net>*
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