Crackdown on the pro-Palestine Movement in Italy
Featured image: Mohammed Hannoun, recently detained in Italy. Source: The Palestine Chronicle.
Yesterday morning the Italian State detained the Palestinian activist Mohammed Hannoun, reports The Palestine Chronicle. Hannoun is the president of the Association of Palestinians in Italy. The arrest is part of an investigation coordinated by the Genoa District Anti-Mafia and Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office. Nine individuals were arrested and three associations are under investigation. Assets and financial resources estimated at more than eight million euros have been seized.
The Italian State clams that Hannoun plays a role in an alleged network for the collection and transfer of funds that were purportedly destined for the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas. The accusations concern, in particular, the management of funds raised through associations engaged in humanitarian activities in support of the people of Palestine. The Palestine Chronicle reports that Hannoun is well-known due to his long-term activism in support of the Palestinian cause, as he has organized and taken part in public demonstrations, solidarity initiatives, and awareness campaigns, etc. He has been already accused in the past, and he repeatedly rejected the accusations against him, reaffirming that his activity is exclusively linked to the defense of the rights of the people of Palestine.
The Palestine Chronicle reminds that this operation is within the framework of an increasing repression on the pro-Palestine movement in Europe, which already targeted activists, solidarity organizations and associations of many kinds, etc. We have recently reported on many cases of this repression in Europe, for example in the case of Ahmad Hilal, repressed in Austria due to his steadfast support for the Palestinian cause:
We also reported on the increasing repressive measures that are targeting the pro-Palestine movement in Germany:
We also reported on the repression faced by many activists in France:
We also reported on the case of the persecution of the solidarity movement for Palestine in Norway:
