Free Mohammad Now

To:  Norway, EU member states, Sweden

On September 22, Mohammad Othman was arrested and detained by Israeli soldiers on the Allenby Bridge Crossing, the border from Jordan to Palestine. He was returning from a trip to Norway.

Mohammad, 33 years old, has dedicated the last ten years of his life to the defense of Palestinian human rights. His village, Jayyous, has lost most of its land to the Wall and the settlements. He has worked constantly to let the world know about the Israeli crimes against his people and has developed relations of international solidarity.
This is not the first time, Palestinian human rights defenders have been arrested after trips abroad. Recently, Muhammad Srour, an eye witness at the UN Fact Finding Mission on Gaza, was arrested on his way back from Geneva. Srour’s arrest was a clear act of reprisal for speaking out about Israeli violations of international law.
We, the undersigned, fear that the detainment of Mohammad Othman is a result of his peaceful criticism of violations of international law by Israeli authorities. The charges against him have not been made clear, but there is reason to believe that he is a prisoner of conscience, arrested solely for his human rights work through legal organizations. We therefore call for the immediate and unconditional release of Mohammad Othman.
Mohammad Othman represents only one of the 11,000 Palestinians being held in Israeli prisons, including 800 being held without charges in administrative detention. Justice should be ensured for all prisoners of conscience.

We urge all appropriate measures are taken, including official inquiries and protests, to ensure Mohammad’s immediate release by:

- Norway, where Mohammad was invited to speak,
- The EU member states, which have given Mohammad repeatedly nulla osta for the Schengen visas on his travels, recognizing him as a peaceful human rights defender
- Sweden, currently leading the presidency of the European Union

Please sign this petition calling for the release of Mohammad Othman and for supporting justice for all 11,000 Palestinian prisoners

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The Free Mohammad Now Petition to Norway, EU member states, Sweden was created by and written by STW (freemohammad@stopthewall.org).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.