Forum for Prison Abolition thanks everybody who showed up for the event on the ways imprisonment serves as a weapon in the long-standing oppression of the Palestinian people. We really appreciated the energy in the room and the support, and hope it was illuminating for all present.

The event focused not so much on the devastating effects incarceration can have on people, families, and communities but on the way courts, administrative detention and long-term imprisonment have for decades – and now accelerated – been used as a means of repression and dehumanization.

We were pleased to be able to listen to and learn from:

• Sahar Francis, Director of ADDAMEER, a Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association based in Palestine, who spoke eloquently and passionately about the situation before and since October 7^th emphasizing the historical continuities of current repressive tactics;
• Mohammed Khatib of the Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, Samidoun, who powerfully indicted the Israeli regime’s military judicial system and called for solidarity with the ongoing struggle for freedom and human rights;
• Søs Nissen, long-time Danish activist and participant in the struggle for the rights of Palestinian prisoners, who drew on decades of activism to illustrate the way imprisonment has always been a core feature of the repression and the way prisons have always been a core site of struggle and resistance.

As well as expressing solidarity Forum for Prison Abolition’s aim with this event was also to showcase the links between abolitionist thought and practice and the Palestinian struggle.

Prison abolition is not simply about dismantling punitive institutions and practices; it is also about envisioning new ways of inhabiting the planet. The ongoing genocide is driven by punitive, exclusionary logics of displacement and confinement and evidences the stark need for new visions of justice and freedom. In this regard abolitionist thought and practice may be a useful resource in the short and longer term.

If you’re interested to learn more and participate in abolitionist action join our monthly assembly’s at Folket’s Hus.