Closure of the "International Forum for the Support of Palestinian Prisoners" Conference in Madrid

SadaNews - The "International Forum for the Support of Palestinian Prisoners" conference concluded today, Tuesday, in the Spanish capital, Madrid. Participants emphasized that the issue of prisoners in occupation prisons represents the essence of the Palestinian national struggle, calling for continued political, media, and legal efforts to ensure their freedom and hold the occupation accountable for its crimes against them.

The conference was opened by Dr. Sabri Saidam, a member of the Fatah Central Committee, in the presence of the Palestinian Ambassador to Spain, Hosni Abd al-Wahid, along with some secretaries of Fatah regions in Europe, representatives of Palestinian communities in Europe, representatives from the Commission of Prisoners and Released Prisoners, the Palestinian Prisoners Club, the Higher Commission for Prisoners' Affairs, several European activists, and supporters of the Palestinian cause.

The forum began its activities on Saturday and continued for two days, aiming to shed light on the suffering of prisoners in occupation prisons and the ongoing violations against them, and to work on enhancing international legal and humanitarian support for their cause by coordinating with European and international human rights organizations.

In his speech, Dr. Ahmad Ma'rouf, Fatah Secretary in Spain, affirmed the necessity of internationalizing the issue of prisoners and highlighting their suffering and the infringement of their legitimate human rights and the terrorist practices against them. He reminded all European and global officials and human rights activists that for the last two years, during the genocide against our people in Gaza, their demands were for the liberation of Israeli hostages, while thousands of Palestinian citizens are kidnapped by the occupation, with no one knowing about them, and they do not enjoy the most basic human rights; on the contrary, there is daily torture and starvation, and there are fundamental violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Ma'rouf stressed that the participants at the forum agreed on the idea of establishing a framework and a mechanism for continuous communication with European parliaments and political parties to expose the crimes of the occupation and to support our prisoners’ cause in their battle against the occupation, for their liberation on one hand, and to end administrative detention against them on the other hand.

For his part, Mu'in al-Said, Secretary of Fatah in Cyprus, emphasized the need to impose strict sanctions against the occupying state for committing crimes against our brave prisoners, in order to force it to comply with international law, and not to settle for mere condemnation. He reiterated the demand to internationalize the prisoners’ issue and to inform the world about the suffering, torture, and deliberate killing that our prisoners endure.

In his speech, Dr. Imad Ali, Secretary of Fatah in Italy, expressed the region's and communities' support for our prisoners’ struggle and sacrifices for freedom and dignity, presenting a number of European stances concerning the prisoners' issue.

Ali presented an important legal aspect regarding filing charges and complaints at the International Criminal Court and even national courts in Europe concerning the repressive practices against our prisoners, affirming that all practices - from psychological and moral torture to rape and execution - represent a clear violation of the Third Geneva Convention in all its provisions.

In his speech, Ahmad Suleiman, head of foreign relations in the Fatah region of Sweden, said: "We meet today while Palestine bleeds, and our heroic prisoners resist with their patience and steadfastness behind bars, standing tall in defense of their country’s freedom and their people’s right to live in dignity like other peoples of the world."

He added: "We are ashamed before the sacrifices of the martyrs and prisoners; they are the ones who offered their lives for our freedom and raised our flag high in the skies of Palestine. It is our humanitarian and religious duty to raise their voices high in all international forums and to carry their message to the whole world: Freedom is a right, and the occupation will come to an end."

At the conclusion of the forum, the delegations participating in the international conference for the support of Gaza and the prisoners visited the headquarters of the General Workers' Union in Spain to express their gratitude and appreciation to this prestigious union for the logistical support they provided for the success of the conference. In the same context, they expressed their unconditional support for our people and our national cause. The delegation met with the Deputy Secretary-General of the General Workers' Union, comrade Lola Navaro Jiménez, and comrade Marco Brice, Director of the Asia and Africa Department in the Union's International Relations, and they were honored by the delegation for their efforts supporting Palestine.

The participating delegation also visited the Embassy of the State of Palestine in Spain to thank them for the logistical and organizational support provided to ensure the success of the conference.