UN experts criticize Palestinian journalist Ali Abunimah’s arrest in Switzerland Israel-Palestine Conflict News
They call the arrest of the founder of the Electronic Intifada website “shocking” and urge Switzerland to release him.
United Nations experts and activists have condemned the arrest of a prominent Palestinian journalist in the Swiss city of Zurich, saying it raised concerns about freedom of speech.
Ali Abunimah – the executive director of the online publication Electronic Intifada, which calls itself the “Palestinian Weapon of Mass Instruction” – was arrested by Swiss police on Saturday before his speech in Zurich, according to a statement on the website.
Swiss police confirmed that a 53-year-old American citizen had been arrested. They cited the entry ban and said further action under his immigration law was being considered.
The UN’s special rapporteur on freedom of thought and expression, Irene Khan, called the arrest “shocking news” and called on Switzerland to investigate and release him in a post on X social media on Sunday.
“The climate around freedom of speech in Europe is becoming increasingly toxic and we should all be concerned,” said Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied territories.
I share the shock and the urge to quickly investigate this matter. The climate around free speech in Europe is becoming increasingly toxic and we should all be concerned. https://t.co/1ke9maasgy
– Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur OPT (@Franceskalbs) January 26, 2025
The pro-Palestinian human rights advocacy group Swiss Action launched a petition for Abunimah’s release on Sunday.
A spokesman for the United States Embassy in Bern said it was providing appropriate consular assistance after seeing reports of the arrest of an American citizen, declining further comment.
Abunimah’s arrest came a day after he arrived in Zurich for a speaking tour, Electronic Intifada said in a statement.
“He is currently in custody and has had access to legal counsel,” it said on Saturday. “When he arrived at Zurich airport on Friday, police questioned Abunimah for an hour before he was allowed to enter the country.”
Describing the arrest as “a growing backlash by Western governments against expressions of solidarity with the Palestinian people,” the website noted that several activists and journalists were arrested, searched or charged using “counter-terrorist” force in the UK last year.
They included Asa Winstanley, associate editor with Electronic Intifada, whose home was raided and computers and phones seized, adding that Winstanley has not been charged with any crime.
“Speaking out against injustice in Palestine is not a crime. Journalism is not a crime,” the website states.
During a Palestine solidarity protest in Geneva on Saturday, demonstrators said Abunimah’s arrest “had no legal basis”.
“He was beaten by Zurich Media,” said one of the speakers. “We have freedom of speech in Switzerland. It’s a constitutional right,” she said, calling the arrest “unacceptable.”
“We support Ali Abunimah, all Palestinian activists and human rights activists,” she said.
