Spanish Parliament Condemns Israeli Conviction of Peace Activist Abdullah Abu Rahmah

Published yesterday (updated) 08/09/2010 18:20

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) --

The Spanish parliament condemned the conviction of Bil'in peace activist Abdullah Abu Rahmah in a move expected to strengthen public pressure to release the anti-wall organizer.

On 24 August an Israeli military court convicted the anti-wall activist from the West bank village of Bil'in of incitement. He has been held at Israel's Ofer military detention center since 10 December 2009.

Abu Rahmah's supporters said his conviction was based solely on the testimony of minors who were arrested in the middle of the night and denied legal counsel.

The popular committee coordinator will be sentenced on 15 September.

The Intergroup for Palestine, an official body of the Spanish Parliament represented by all political parties, issued a statement expressing its "deep concern that Abdullah Abu Rahmah’s potential incarceration aims at preventing him and other Palestinians from exercising their legitimate right to protest against the existence of the Wall in a non violent manner."

The body joined growing international condemnation of Abu Rahmah’s detention.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu said he had been "very impressed" by Abu Rahmah's commitment to non-violence and wise leadership, and said "Israel's attempt to crack down on this effective resistance movement by criminalizing peaceful protest is unacceptable and unjust."

In a statement, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said, "The EU considers Abdullah Abu Rahmah to be a Human Rights Defender committed to non violent protest against the route of the Israeli separation barrier through his West Bank village of Bil'in."

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