Respected Palestinian journalist Ali Abunimah was arrested, jailed for two days and later deported while traveling to speak at an event in Switzerland.
Mr Abunimah, the executive director of the news website The Electronic Intifada, was detained ahead of a speaking event in Zurich.
He arrived in Switzerland at the invitation of local organisers but when he landed at the airport on January 24, he was questioned by police for an hour before being allowed to enter the country.
Then, according to the Electronic Intifada, eyewitnesses said three plainclothes police officers “violently” arrested Abunimah on January 25, and forced him into an unmarked vehicle without disclosing where he was being taken.
After his deportation on January 27, Mr Abunimah posted a statement on X which confirmed his freedom and detailed some of his experiences being held and questioned by Swiss police.
“On Monday evening I was brought to Zurich airport in handcuffs, in a small metal cage inside a windowless prison van and led all the way to the plane by police.
“This is after three days and two nights in a Swiss prison cut off from communication with the outside world, in a cell 24 hours a day with one cell mate, not even permitted to contact my family.”
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Mr Abunimah alleged that during a police interview he was accused of “offending against Swiss law” but the police didn’t explain to him what crime had actually been committed.
According to Mr Abunimah, he remains unaware of any charges being brought against him and is now on his way home after been put on a flight to Istanbul, Turkiye.
“This ordeal lasted three days but that taste of prison was more than enough to leave me in even greater awe of the Palestinian heroes who endure months and years in the prisons of the genocidal oppressor. More than ever I know that the debt we owe them is one we can never repay and all of them must be free and they must remain our focus.”
Arrest condemned
Amid the outrage over the arrest of such a well-known Palestinian journalist, an avalanche of condemnation pilled up adding significant public attention to the case.
Two United Nations human rights experts condemned the detention of Abunimah by Swiss authorities as “shocking.”
Irene Khan, the UN special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, called it “shocking news” and urged Switzerland “to urgently investigate and release” Abunimah.
Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, called for a “prompt investigation into this matter.”
She said that “the climate surrounding freedom of speech in Europe is becoming increasingly toxic, and we should all be concerned.”
Amnesty International’s European office said that it was following Abunimah’s case.
“The global crackdown on those who are critical of Israel’s violations of Palestinians’ human rights is alarming and must be immediately stopped,” Amnesty added.
Euro-Med Monitor, a Geneva-based human rights group, condemned Abunimah’s arrest. They said it was a “dangerous development that reflects a growing trend in Western governments to censor free speech and target journalists and activists who document the suffering of victims and stand up for Palestinian rights.”
Crackdown on pro-Palestine activism
The arrest and deportation of Mr Abunimah comes amid what appears to be a major effort to censor the speech or activities of prominent pro-Palestine voices across the Western world.
In the UK, a number of journalists, activists and protest leaders have been targeted by police, including counterterrorism police, in one form or another.
Asa Winstanley, a colleague of Mr Abunimah at The Electronic Intifada, had his home raided by counterterrorism police in October 2024.
Although Winstanley was not charged with any crime, his computers and phones were seized during the raid which was later condemned by the Committee to Protect Journalists and Britain’s National Union of Journalists.
Back in August, 2024, police raided the home of a well-known pro-Palestine activist, Sarah Wilkinson, reportedly over allegations relating to her online posts discussing the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
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On the same day, a co-founder of direct action group Palestine Action, Richard Barnard, was charged with three offences for comments made in two earlier speeches.
He is accused of supporting a proscribed organisation under the Terrorism Act (2000), and encouraging “criminal activity.”
Last July, pro-Palestine activist Majid Freeman was also arrested and later charged with “encouragement of terrorism and supporting a proscribed organisation.”
Mr Freeman, 36, was at the forefront of exposing Hindutva extremism and violence in Leicester a few years ago and has been a stalwart supporter of the Palestinians amid the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza.
His viral video challenging former Labour MP Jon Ashworth is widely believed to have had an impact on Ashworth losing his parliamentary seat to Shockat Adam.
Another prominent example of a senior Palestinian voice being denied freedom to speak was Dr Ghassan Abu-Sitta, a doctor who spent 43 days in Gaza helping treat those wounded in Israel’s genocidal war.
He was denied entry into France in May 2024, where he was scheduled to make a speech at the Senate.
“Fortress Europe (is) silencing the witnesses to the genocide while Israel kills them in prison,” Abu-Sitta posted on X in response to being held at Charles De Gaulle airport.
