MEMO Press Release
*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*
Sheikh Raed Salah arrived in London on Saturday 25th using his Israeli
passport to enter Britain legally as he has done many times before. He
was not questioned by anyone and there was no indication of the
existence of an exclusion order. Over the past few days, Sheikh Salah
has addressed MPs in the British parliament and has spoken in large
public gatherings. His subsequent arrest last night will be challenged
in the courts as unjustified. This seems to be the beginning of a
worrying trend of persecution of Muslims and pro-Palestinian activists.
* Immediately after the Middle East Monitor [MEMO] announced that it
was hosting Sheikh Raed Salah at a public lecture at Queen Mary
University, a well-known pro-Israeli website circulated a
catalogue of lies and fabrications about him which he has refuted
for years.
* On Thursday, 16th June, he issued an unequivocal statement
refuting the claims. He ordered lawyers in London to challenge
these fabrications in the British High Court.
* On 24th June, lawyers acting on Sheikh Raed’s behalf served notice
on Andrew Gilligan of the Daily Telegraph and Robyn Rosen of the
Jewish Chronicle. These procedures began before Sheikh Raed
entered the country and were publicly announced.
* None of the organisers of his lengthy schedule were contacted by
the government or the police, either directly or indirectly,
regarding the facts about him.
* He began his programme of engagements on Sunday, which was
followed with a roundtable in Parliament on Monday 27th June where
he was speaking to a number of MPs, Lords and researchers in
Committee Room 2A, in which he spoke for an hour. There was still
no indication that he had been banned.
* On the evening of Monday 27th he attended a crowded event in
Conway Hall, Holborn, for almost three hours which was reported by
the Jewish Chronicle. The Evening Standard claims he failed to
appear. MEMO has a record of the event, with photos.
* No policemen were present at the public event to arrest or
question him before, during or after the event, despite any claims
to the contrary.
* Yesterday he made a speech in Leicester in front of an audience of
more than one thousand for more than two hours. It was a
successful event. And again, there were no police present.
* However, during the day, the Daily Mail and Evening Standard
circulated news that a ban was issued last week but for one reason
or another, the exclusion order had failed to be enacted and that
he had sneaked in, implying that he is on the run.
* Lawyers contacted the Home Office in the afternoon asking for a
clarification, although no one had contacted them. It is important
to note that none of his legal representatives, who were widely
known, were contacted. The Home Office refused to comment.
Similarly, contact was made by the MPs and MEMO, and the Home
Office again did not confirm or deny anything.
* Around 11pm on Tuesday evening, Sheikh Raed was arrested in his
hotel and taken to Paddington Green Police Station by the UK
Border Police.
* It is imperative to reiterate that he entered the country legally,
with a legal Israeli passport and that the British government knew
long in advance of his visit. They never contacted MEMO to find
out the truth. The Sheikh himself was willing to challenge all the
allegations in court. There were lies and fabrications made in the
public domain, which he has rejected and he has never been charged
with or convicted these alleged offences. He has expressed a
willingness to challenge these in court.
* One example of the baseless lies circulated was published in the
Evening standard alleging that he failed to turn up to the Conway
Hall event. In fact he was there for three hours and spoke to a
large audience there.
*Analysis*
* Raed Salah is first and foremost the pre-eminent political leader
of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Israel. He is one of
the main leaders of the biggest political party among the 1.5
million Palestinians in Israel. His appeal goes well beyond Arab
Israelis and he appeals to all Arabs and Muslims who see him as
championing the issue of Occupied Jerusalem and the right of
Palestinians in Israel and elsewhere. His name is synonymous with
Jerusalem and he is well known.
* His treatment by the British government will not be taken lightly
either here or abroad. By banning him after he began legal
proceedings, it appears that the British government is seeking to
obstruct the course of justice. He has already started legal
action against those who circulated these rumours.
* This appears to be initiating a trend by which we can expect that
all Muslim, Arabs and human righ ts activists will be judged by
rumours and denied the right to challenge in court those who
spread libellous rumours about them.
* The fact that we were not contacted shows recklessness and disdain
for British citizens. If the authorities had wanted to ban him
they had the opportunity to do it respectfully, but their
recklessness is beyond imagination and it reflects the
government’s draconian nature.
* Finally, MEMO understands that Sheikh Raed will challenge the
deportation order in court. It is not he who is losing his
reputation; he has been arrested in Israel on countless occasions
for defending Palestinian rights, and now the British government
is acting in the same way.
* It will curtail freedom of speech in this country. At a time when
the universal laws to prevent war criminals to enter this country
unchallenge are being threatened, the double standards are clear.
They judge Muslims on rumours and fabrications and allow Israeli
war criminals to enter.
* The Home Office have said that the deportation order was served as
his deportation is deemed conducive to the public good under
Section 3 of the Immigration Act of 1971.
