Ata Khattab, Debka performer with El-Funoun Dance Troupe and son of cultural icon and director of Wishah Popular Dance Troupe Mohamad Ata Khattab, was arrested by Israeli Occupation forces at 4am on February 2nd. Ata is currently being held in a facility called Al-Moscobiyeh, known for their use of cruel methods of interrogation, including torture. The importance of cultural workers like Ata to Palestinian resistance cannot be understated, and Israel knows this. We at USPCN demand the protection of cultural performers like Ata from Israeli interrogation and jail!
Hashtags:
#FreeAtaKhattab
#FreeAllPalestinianPoliticalPrisoners
#الحرية_لعطا_خطاب
Tag:
@uspcn
TAKE ACTION NOW TO #FreeAtaKhattab
1) Urge your congressperson to write a letter to the State Department demanding Ata’s release. See our letter template HERE!
- Sample Tweets:
- .@(Congressperson), we urge you to write a letter to the @StateDept_NEA and ask them to demand Israel #FreeAtaKhattab immediately! Ata is a Palestinian cultural worker and dance instructor who has been detained by Israel for the past 25 days without charge!
- Take Action: READ & SHARE! Send this letter to your Congressperson and Tweet at them. Demand they write a letter to @StateDept_NEA in support of Palestinian Political Prisoners and DEMAND #FreeAtaKhattab – LINK TO SAMPLE LETTER: bit.ly/AtaLetter
- CONNECTING TWEET: If you need help finding your representative’s contact info, use this link here: www.govtrack.us
2) Sign our petition to the State Department HERE!
- Sample Tweet:
- 🚨ACTION🚨 Please READ & SIGN this petition and SHARE with your networks to demand #FreeAtaKhattab bit.ly/AtaPetition
Sample Content for Twitter and/or Instagram:
- “Extra-judicial abductions taking place during night time raids are a clear and deliberate violation by the state of Israel of the human and civil rights of these leaders and activists” #FreeAtaKhattab
https://www.newsclick.in/widespread-condemnation-israeli-raids-arrests-palestinian-leaders-activists
- Israeli forces intentionally target Palestinian leaders, cultural workers, activists & human rights defenders to silence the movement & destroy anyone who speaks out against the occupation. We demand Israel stop its intimidation tactics and #FreeAtaKhattab NOW! #الحرية_لعطا_خطاب
- VIDEO: The horrors of Al-Moscobiyeh Interrogation Center, where Ata Khattab is currently held, notorious for the use of torture by the Israelis against Palestinian detainees. Video courtesy of @Addameer #FreeAtaKhattab #الحرية_لعطا_خطاب
https://youtu.be/TzLRn0_eLUc
- Israel does not comply with legal & international standards that allow for equality before the law, as they rarely guarantee a fair trial for Palestinians. Israel needs to #FreeAtaKhattab – end the imprisonment of Palestinians! #الحرية_لعطا_خطاب
- According to @Addameer’s website, there are currently over 4,500 Palestinian political prisoners, many of them held without charge or trial, and many held in adminstrative dention. Like Ata, many of these Palestinians are at constant risk of Israeli torture. #FreeAtaKhattab
- “Israel has not passed domestic legislation prohibiting torture, and its courts have allowed for torture to be used in cases of ‘necessity,’ giving Israel free rein to torture Palestinian political prisoners.” #FreeAtaKhattab
https://al-shabaka.org/briefs/the-systematic-torture-of-palestinians-in-israeli-detention/
- From Chicago to Palestine, with our allies @caarpr, we demand the release of all political prisoners and those who were wrongly convicted, like Gerald Reed who spent 30 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. #FreeGeraldReed, #FreeThemAll, #FreeAtaKhattab
- Cultural performers like Ata Khattab play a huge role in Palestinian resistance – Israel knows what they are doing to Palestinian liberation by targeting cultural workers, but we will not be stopped. We demand an end to Israel’s crimes and we demand #FreeAtaKhattab!
- “The number of Palestinian prisoners infected with #COVID19 has reached more than 355 cases and is steadily increasing…” -@addameer’s monthly newsletter.
On top of torture, Palestinian prisoners like Ata also face the threat of COVID-19. #FreeAtaKhattab #الحرية_لعطا_خطاب
- “According to the Palestinian Prisoner Society, about 95 percent of Palestinian prisoners in Israel experience ill-treatment or torture during their detention and interrogation.” #FreeAtaKhattab
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/12/9/palestinian-ex-prisoners-recall-torture-in-israeli-detention
- Palestinians are abducted from their homes at odd hours by Israeli forces without warrants nor knowing reason for arrest. Blindfolded & bonded, they’re unaware of location taken to while experiencing abuse from moment of arrest #FreeAllPalestinianPoliticalPrisoners http://www.addameer.org/publications/al-moscabiyeh-torture-heart-jerusalem
Sample Content for Facebook and Instagram
- VIDEO: The horrors of Al-Moscobiyeh Interrogation Center, notorious for the use of torture by the Israeli’s against Palestinian detainees. Ata Khattab, Debka performer with El-Funoun Dance Troupe and son of cultural icon and director of Wishah Popular Dance Troupe Mohamad Ata Khattab, is currently being held at Al-Moscobiyeh. Video courtesy of @Addameer Join us in demanding the end of Israeli torture – #FreeAtaKhattab! #الحرية_لعطا_خطاب
https://youtu.be/TzLRn0_eLUc
- “For Palestinians, torture is just one facet of the structural violence they face at the hands of the Israeli regime, which entraps them in an open-air prison and deprives them of their fundamental rights. It is also one that receives little attention from the international community, usually because the Israeli authorities use arguments of state security bolstered by the “war on terror” narrative.”
Many political prisoners, like Ata Khattab, face the threat of Israeli torture while held without charge of trial. Torture at the hands of Israel has become a normalized struggle for Palestinians, especially Palestinian prisoners. #FreeAtaKhattab #الحرية_لعطا_خطاب https://al-shabaka.org/briefs/the-systematic-torture-of-palestinians-in-israeli-detention/
- Palestinians are abducted from their homes at odd hours in the night/early morning by Israeli Occupational forces without warrants nor knowing reason for arrest. Typically blindfolded & handcuffed, they’re also completely unaware of location taken to while also experiencing physical abuse, harassment, and deliberate humiliation from the moment of arrest. Palestinians are subjected to cruel and inhumane torture once they arrive at the facility. Al-Moscubiyya Prison is a facility famous for some of it’s most horrid forms of interrogation and torture, in which their tactics can result in severe psychological and physical damage. Cut off from the outside world completely, they have no ability to call for help and are forced to endure all methods of interrogation and torture Israeli authorities deem “appropriate”. Ata Khattab is currently imprisoned in this exact facility. We must demand for his release as soon as possible, as well as the release of all Palestinian Political Prisoners! #FreeAtaKhattab #الحرية_لعطا_خطاب
You can read more here: http://www.addameer.org/publications/al-moscabiyeh-torture-heart-jerusalem
Photos to use throughout the day on all platforms:
