{"id":312909,"date":"2026-02-09T12:00:33","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T12:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=312909"},"modified":"2026-02-06T06:36:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T06:36:18","slug":"across-the-west-speaking-for-palestine-is-now-a-crime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2026\/02\/across-the-west-speaking-for-palestine-is-now-a-crime\/","title":{"rendered":"Across the West, Speaking for Palestine Is Now a Crime"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Police detain a demonstrator, as protesters march in support of Palestinian rights in front of Neukolln City Hall, Berlin, Germany, 27 Dec 2025.
\u0130lkin Eskipehlivan Anadolu Images<\/p><\/div>\n

25 Jan 2026\u00a0<\/em>–\u00a0Exactly a year ago today, I was abducted from a Zurich street by plainclothes police, bundled into an unmarked car and taken to prison.<\/p>\n

I was walking with one of my hosts toward a venue where I was scheduled to speak at an event organized by Swiss activists about Israel\u2019s genocide in Gaza.<\/p>\n

During my detention, Swiss intelligence officers tried to question me without my lawyer present \u2013 an apparent attempt, I told Swiss academic Pascal Lottaz in a recent interview<\/a>, to manufacture grounds for my arrest retroactively.<\/p>\n

After three days in detention, I was handcuffed, caged in a police van, taken to the airport and expelled.<\/p>\n

The operation achieved its purpose: preventing me from participating in public events about Israel\u2019s crimes. But it failed to intimidate or silence me.<\/p>\n

In December, Zurich\u2019s Administrative Court ruled<\/a> that my detention violated both the Swiss constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights.<\/p>\n

I have filed additional cases, including a criminal complaint<\/a> against Nicoletta della Valle, the Israel-linked police official later identified<\/a> by a parliamentary investigation as having ordered the action against me.<\/p>\n

As I told Lottaz, what happened to me is not exceptional. It is part of a widening campaign across the so-called West to silence journalists, students and activists who expose Israel\u2019s crimes or advocate for Palestinian rights.<\/p>\n

You can watch our conversation on his Neutrality Studies channel in this video:<\/p>\n