Latest news with #ElectronicIntifada
The National
30-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
Met Police silent after unlawful seizure of journalist Asa Winstanley's property
A reported 10 officers from the Metropolitan Police had raided Asa Winstanley's home in October 2024 and confiscated items including his laptop and mobile phone, despite having no legal right to do so. The police force then put in a retrospective request for a Production Order, which would have made their actions lawful. However, it was denied earlier this week. Winstanley writes for the pro-Palestine website Electronic Intifada as well as running a Substack blog called Palestine is Still the Issue. READ MORE: BBC Question Time audience member in fiery Israel exchange with Labour MP Writing on his blog after the court ruling, Winstanley said: 'My legal team successfully argued that the police should have instead asked to speak to me, rather than raiding my home and seizing the devices I use for my journalism.' He went on: 'Even the police themselves, in November correspondence with my lawyers, conceded that the warrants they used to search my home were unlawful. 'In any event, there was no need for them to access private devices and documents simply to confirm the author of a public Twitter account. Such access would have endangered my contacts and violated my duty to protect my journalistic sources. 'To date, I have been neither arrested nor charged with any crime. 'I call on the police to drop their ongoing investigation into my tweets and to apologise for the unlawful raid on my home and seizure of my devices. They should provide compensation for the harm caused to me and my family, as well as for any detriment to my journalistic contacts and sources.' Asa Winstanley (Image: X/Asa Winstanley) The National Union of Journalists had supported Winstanley. Its general secretary, Laura Davison, said: 'This ruling resoundingly affirms journalists' right to protect sources as enshrined in law. 'The seizure of our member's property was a brazen attempt to intimidate journalists working in the public interest. Abusing counter-terror legislation to stifle press freedom undermines public trust in the police, journalists' safety, and democracy. 'Just weeks ago the UK Prime Minister stood up in Parliament and spoke about the importance of a free press and independent journalism. We urge the government to make good on their words and prevent the targeting of journalists, like Asa Winstanley, through raids and detentions. 'We welcome the judge's verdict and seek urgent clarity on police plans to prevent further unlawful investigations of journalists.' Winstanley was represented by solicitor Tayab Ali, from Bindmans. READ MORE: Gerry Adams wins €100k in libel trial as jury finds BBC 'did not act in good faith' Ali said: 'This ruling is a resounding victory for press freedom and the rule of law. The actions of the police, raiding a journalist's home under the guise of counter-terrorism, were not only unlawful but a grave threat to the democratic principle that journalists must be able to work without fear of state harassment. 'The court recognised that the warrants were unlawfully obtained, the police conduct was unjustified, and their attempt to retrospectively legitimise the raid failed. This case was not about national security, it was about silencing a journalist who had made comments on the situation in Gaza. 'The police acted improperly by applying for warrants at the Magistrates Court where there simply is no power to retain journalistic and privileged material and despite repeated warnings refused to concede they had acted unlawfully. 'The police should now urgently review why this happened and what policy decisions led to this unlawful violation on journalistic freedom.' The Solicitors Journal reported that the "significant ruling has raised questions about the conduct of the police and their subsequent failure to issue an apology or discontinue the ongoing investigation into Winstanley's journalistic work". The Met Police have still not responded to a request for a comment put in on May 28.
Russia Today
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Switzerland deports pro-Palestine American journalist
Swiss authorities have expelled the executive director of еhe Electronic Intifada media outlet after detaining and holding him for three days, the Palestinian-American journalist Ali Abunimah wrote on X on Monday. The pro-Palestinian journalist was arrested in Switzerland on Saturday, just hours before he was scheduled to speak at an event in Zurich. 'We do not want an Islamist Jew-hater who calls for violence in Switzerland,' Swiss Security Department head Mario Fehr told Neue Zürcher Zeitung, as authorities were considering 'immigration law measures' against the 53-year-old American man. Abunimah recounted his experience in a lengthy statement upon arriving in Istanbul on Monday. After being arrested by plainclothes officers on Saturday afternoon, he spent three days in a solitary cell, 'cut off from communication with the outside world' and 'not even permitted to contact my family,' he wrote. READ MORE: Switzerland arrests Palestinian-American journalist 'During a police interview on Saturday, in the presence of my lawyer, they accused me of 'offending against Swiss law' without ever telling me what crime I had committed in Switzerland or listing any charges,' Abunimah said, adding that, as far as he knew, he had not been charged with any crime. The next day, he claimed he was questioned by 'Swiss defense ministry intelligence agents' without his lawyer present. 'I refused to talk to them without my lawyer and told them to take me back to my cell,' Abunimah stated, adding that he refused food and any drinks other than water while in detention. 'The police gave me my phone back only at the gate of the plane, so I'm only now seeing the extent of the overwhelming support and solidarity from all over the world,' the journalist said, thanking his lawyer and supporters. READ MORE: American journalist handcuffed & forcibly removed from Blinken's last presser (VIDEOS) Abunimah's arrest drew criticism from several figures within the United Nations. Irene Khan, the UN special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, called the arrest 'shocking news' and urged Bern to release the journalist in a post on X on Sunday. Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, expressed similar consternation. 'The climate surrounding freedom of speech in Europe is becoming increasingly toxic, and we should all be concerned,' she wrote in response to Khan. Born in Washington, DC, to parents from the West Bank, Abunimah co-founded the Electronic Intifada outlet in 2001. The website publishes news on Middle Eastern events from a Palestinian perspective. Abunimah regularly appears in mainstream media as a vocal advocate for the Palestinian cause.
Al Jazeera
27-01-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Switzerland releases, deports Palestinian American journalist Ali Abunimah
Washington, DC – Palestinian American journalist Ali Abunimah has confirmed that Swiss authorities have released and deported him after holding him for three days. Abunimah, the executive director of the Electronic Intifada publication, suggested in a social media post on Monday that Switzerland detained him because of his advocacy for Palestinian rights. 'My 'crime'? Being a journalist who speaks up for Palestine and against Israel's genocide and settler-colonial savagery and those who aid and abet it,' he wrote. Abunimah was arrested in Zurich on Saturday before he was set to deliver a speech in the city, sparking outrage from Palestinian rights advocates. The Swiss embassy in Washington, DC, did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera's request for comment. The Reuters news agency reported on Sunday that the Swiss police cited an entry ban and other measures under the country's immigration law as the reason for Abunimah's arrest. The Palestinian American journalist said that, when he was questioned by police officers, they accused him of 'offending against Swiss law' without providing specific charges. He said he was 'cut off from communication with the outside world, in a cell 24 hours a day', adding that he was unable to contact his family. He added that he was only given back his phone at the gate of the plane that flew him to Istanbul. Abunimah noted that, during the period when he was taken to prison like a 'dangerous criminal', Switzerland welcomed Israeli President Isaac Herzog to the World Economic Forum in Davos. Herzog has sparked controversy for his stance on Israel's war on Gaza, which has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians. He previously said that there are no 'uninvolved civilians' in Gaza. '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,' Abunimah said. '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.' United Nations experts had decried Abunimah's detention as an assault on free speech. Irene Khan, a UN special rapporteur for freedom of opinion and expression, described Abunimah's arrest as 'shocking news' on Saturday and urged his release. Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, also called for an investigation into the incident. 'The climate surrounding freedom of speech in Europe is becoming increasingly toxic, and we should all be concerned,' Albanese wrote in a social media post. Abunimah's detention came amid an increased clampdown on pro-Palestine voices in Europe amid the war on Gaza, which UN experts have compared with genocide. In April, Germany shut down a conference for Palestinian rights advocates and denied entry to the British doctor Ghassan Abu Sittah, who had worked in Gaza. Activists have also accused German authorities of cracking down on protests throughout the war. In October 2024, British counterterrorism police raided the home of Abunimah's Electronic Intifada colleague Asa Winstanley — an incident that the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said was part of a 'disturbing pattern of weaponizing counter-terrorism laws against reporters'. Months earlier, British authorities held journalist Richard Medhurst, who is vocally critical of Israeli policies, for 24 hours as he arrived in London. Medhurst said on Saturday that the 'terrorism' investigation against him was extended until May. In Gaza, Israel has killed 205 journalists since the start of the war in October 2023, according to local authorities.
Yahoo
26-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
UN experts decry arrest of pro-Palestinian American journalist in Switzerland
GENEVA - U.N. human rights experts and activists on Sunday condemned the arrest of an American, pro-Palestinian journalist in the Swiss city of Zurich, saying it raised concerns about freedom of speech. Ali Abunimah, the executive director of online publication Electronic Intifada which calls itself "Palestine's weapon of mass instruction", was arrested by Swiss police on Saturday afternoon ahead of a speech in Zurich, the organisation said in a statement. Swiss police confirmed that a 53-year-old American had been arrested, citing an entry ban, and said further measures under its immigration law were being considered. UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression Irene Khan called it "shocking news" and urged Switzerland to investigate and release him in a post on X. "The climate surrounding freedom of speech in Europe is becoming increasingly toxic, and we should all be concerned," said Francesca Albanese, U.N. Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Occupied Territories. Pro-Palestinian advocacy group Swiss Action for Human Rights launched a petition to release Abunimah on Sunday. The U.S. mission in Bern could not immediately be reached for comment.
Yahoo
26-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
UN experts decry arrest of pro-Palestinian American journalist in Switzerland
GENEVA - U.N. human rights experts and activists on Sunday condemned the arrest of an American, pro-Palestinian journalist in the Swiss city of Zurich, saying it raised concerns about freedom of speech. Ali Abunimah, the executive director of online publication Electronic Intifada which calls itself "Palestine's weapon of mass instruction", was arrested by Swiss police on Saturday afternoon ahead of a speech in Zurich, the organisation said in a statement. Swiss police confirmed that a 53-year-old American had been arrested, citing an entry ban, and said further measures under its immigration law were being considered. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression Irene Khan called it "shocking news" and urged Switzerland to investigate and release him in a post on X. "The climate surrounding freedom of speech in Europe is becoming increasingly toxic, and we should all be concerned," said Francesca Albanese, U.N. Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Occupied Territories. Pro-Palestinian advocacy group Swiss Action for Human Rights launched a petition to release Abunimah on Sunday. The U.S. mission in Bern could not immediately be reached for comment.
