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Leader of main Palestinian civic organisation in Israel detained in UK after overnight raid


The UK government appears to confuse anything with 'Islamic' in the name to be connected to terrorism. He must be freed now.

From the Guardian
Sheikh Raed Salah, a leading Palestinian activist, has been detained in London amid reports that he is banned from the UK

Salah, the leader of the Islamic Movement in Israel, was detained on Tuesday night by police.

The home secretary, Theresa May, said officials from the UK Border Agency were taking steps to remove Salah from the country. She said an investigation had been launched into how he managed to get into the UK.

Sarah Colborne, director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), insisted that Salah was the leader of a legitimate political organisation. He rejected all forms of racism, including anti-semitism, she said. more

His solicitor, Farooq Bajwa, said Salah had "no knowledge" of a travel ban and had made "no attempt" to conceal his identity when he entered Britain.

"Sheikh Raed Salah is the leader of the Islamic Movement in Israel, the largest movement for Palestinians in Israel," Colborne said.

"This is a legitimate organisation which Israel has never moved to ban.
From the Palestine Solidarity Campaign

Sarah Colborne, Director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said "I am appalled that Sheikh Raed Salah was detained late last night by the police.

"Sheikh Raed Salah is the leader of the Islamic Movement in Israel, the largest movement for Palestinians in Israel. This is a legitimate organisation which Israel has never moved to ban. Raed Saleh regularly speaks at venues across Israel where he has considerable support amongst the Palestinian citizens of Israel, who make up a fifth of the population.

"Sheikh Raed has been elected as mayor of his hometown Um al-Fahm three times. He has never been convicted of anti-Semitism in Israel.

"Before coming to Britain, he faced horrific allegations of anti-Semitism, which he completely refuted. He has clarified his position of being opposed to all forms of racism, including anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and racism against his own people, the Palestinians. He has asked his legal team to take legal action against those spreading these false allegations.

"The attempt to remove Sheikh Raed Salah from this country whilst he is taking legal action against those who have been defaming him is an obstruction of the course of justice.

"We have been organising a meeting on peace and justice in Jerusalem for weeks – with publicity widely available – to which Sheikh Raed Salah was one of the speakers. PSC also invited MPs to speak at the same meeting. At no stage did anyone contact us from the government or the police. Following rumours in the papers, Sheikh Raed Salah’s legal team tried to verify if it was true that a travel ban had indeed been issued, and had no confirmation nor denial from any official source. I am appalled that decisions on whether or not significant political figures can be detained in this country appear to be made on the basis of defamatory rumours, rather than facts. This shocking move by the British government will deeply damage British relations in the Middle East."

Shaikh Salah has recently released a statement refuting the alleagations made against him

The meeting in Parliament at which Shaikh Salah was due to speak at, will still take place as scheduled tonight (Wednesday).


For further details: Sarah Colborne (PSC), 020 7700 6192
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