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Free Ali Abunimah

THE FOUNDER of the Electronic Intifada website, Ali Abunimah, was as we write in prison in the Swiss city of Zurich. He arrived in the city on Friday 24 January for a speaking engagement and was held and questioned for an hour before being released. The following day he was arrested before he could speak.

28 January Then, just over an hour after we wrote, Ali Abunimah announced that he had been released and deported. "On Saturday in a police interview 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. As far as I know I have not been charged with any crime whatsoever and I was held in 'administrative detention'."

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Ali Abunimah

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Francesca Albanese, United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinin territories, Tweeted: "I share the shock and urge for a prompt investigation into this matter. The climate surrounding freedom of speech in Europe is becoming increasingly toxic, and we should all be concerned."

The UN special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, Irene Khan, called the arrest “shocking news” and urged Switzerland to investigate and release him.

The arrest follows Branch member Asa Winstanley, an Electronic Intifada contributor, having his equipment seized by UK police on 17 October.

Note to editors

The word "Intifada" means simply "uprising". The "First Intifada" in the occupied Palestinin territories began in 1987 with peaceful civil disobedience, notably refusal to pay taxes. Brutal repression drew a response over the next six years. The "Second Intifada" from 2000 to 2005 was involved much more violence from the start.

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* UN experts slam Palestinian journalist Ali Abunimah’s arrest in Switzerland aljazeera.com