Mahmoud Abu Rahma, a human rights advocate attacked by masked men in Gaza / Mahmoud Abu Rahma, un defenseur des droits humains attaqués à Gaza

(c) Photo by: Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Mahmoud Abu Rahma; Al Mezan Center, Gaza, archive photo August 2010.

I am really shocked to hear the news that Mahmoud Abu Rahma, a known human rights advocate in Gaza who works in Al Mezan Center was stabbed by masked men for having written an article demanding accountability for resistance groups and the government and better protection for people. He was even called a collaborator. Mahmoud and Al Mezan have been working tirelessly on behalf of the Palestinians for years through research and advocacy, denouncing human rights abuse and calling for accountability irrespectively of the identity of the perpetrators.

I know Mahmoud, he was very helpful and welcoming when I was in Gaza and he helped me a lot to better understand the situation. I hope he will have a speedy recovery to be able to continue his essential work. I am afraid that this means that the situation has become even worse in Gaza than last time I visited about one year ago. Can we really expect otherwise when we know how are the conditions in Gaza, when people are squizzed in this tiny piece of land, locked from every side, under constant attack and without any perspective of development? This is of course not to justify any gross human rights violations, including freedom of expression which is for the least we can say often under attack- either in the West bank or Gaza.

Lets stand in solidarity with Mahmoud and all the human rights defenders and activists who fight oppression whenever it comes from!

Here is a link to the article "The gap between resistance and governance" that Mahmoud wrote earlier and that provoked the attack.

Here is the press release of Adalah in solidarity with Mahmoud:

17 January 2012

Open Letter from Adalah to our colleagues at Al Mezan in Gaza condemning the violent attacks against Mahmoud Abu Rahma

We were shocked to hear today about the recent violent attacks over the past two weeks against our colleague Mahmoud Abu Rahma, the international relations director of Al Mezan and an internationally known human rights defender.

We condemn these cowardly attacks. We further condemn the campaign to prevent Mahmoud from voicing his opinion and ideas, and from continuing his work in support of the human rights of Palestinians. We view these attacks as a deplorable attempt to silence Mahmoud and his legitimate struggle to secure a human rights culture in the Gaza Strip.

Adalah's staff and Board of Directors express our deep solidarity with Mahmoud and Al Mezan. We stand against the threats and intimidation that Mahmoud has been subjected to in recent weeks. We also call on the security services in Gaza to find the offenders and hold them accountable, and we wish Mahmoud a full and speedy recovery.

Press release of Al Mezan:
http://www.mezan.org/en/details.php?id=13320&ddname=state%20of%20insecurity&id2=9&id_dept=
9&p=center

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Je suis vraiment choquée d'apprendre que Mahmoud Abu Rahma, un défenseur éminent des droits humains qui travaille dans le Centre Al Mezan a été poignardé par des hommes masqués à plusieurs reprises pour avoir écrit un article demandant que groupes de résistance et le gouvernement soient tenus responsables pour des dommages causés aux civils et une meilleure protection des personnes. Il a même été appelé un collaborateur. Mahmoud et Al Mezan ont travaillé sans relâche au nom des Palestiniens depuis des années par la recherche et le travail de plaidoyer, dénonçant les abus des droits et appelant à la responsabilité quel que soit l'identité des auteurs des crimes commis.

J'ai rencontré Mahmoud lors de mon dernier séjour à Gaza; il a été extrêmement accueillant et m'a beaucoup aidé dans mes démarches et à mieux comprendre la situation. Des attaques de ce type ne font que renforcer mon sentiment d'une détérioration dans la bande de Gaza. Peut-on s'attendre à autre chose lorsqu'on sait que la petite bande de terre, surpeuplée est complètement fermée de toute part sans perspectives de développement? Cela ne justifie bien sûr en aucun cas les violations des droits humains, et notamment la liberté d'expression qui il faut le dire est souvent circonscrite, en Cisjordanie comme dans la bande de Gaza.

Montrons nous solidaires de Mahmoud, de tous les défenseurs des droits humains et des militants qui combattent l'oppression, peu importe d'où elle vient.

Voici un lien vers l'article "L'écart entre la résistance et la gouvernance" que Mahmoud a écrit plus tôt et qui a provoqué l'attaque.