As Trump attacks pro-Palestinian students at Columbia University, such as Mahmoud Khalil, 18 Palestine Action activists remain imprisoned in the UK, awaiting trial. Academics continue to be dismissed for their political positions — even in Switzerland — while Germany’s new ruling coalition plans to intensify the current crackdown. In France, the collective Palestine Vaincra  was just dissolved, and feminist demonstrations have been forbidden because of the presence of pro-Palestinian organizations.

In this context, the French state has taken a step forward in the repression of political dissent. On June 18, two activists from the political organization Révolution Permanente — including its spokesperson Anasse Kazib, a railroad worker, union activist, and former presidential candidate — will stand trial for “apology for terrorism.”  In April 2024, they were summoned by the anti-terrorist police, along with member of the European Parliament (MEP) Rima Hassan, Mathilde Panot (president of the France Insoumise party in the National Assembly), and several other public figures. While the use of “anti-terrorism” laws against supporters of Palestine is becoming increasingly common, the offense of “apology for terrorism” is unique to France. It was added into the penal code in 2014 in the name of the fight against “jihadism,” and allows authorities to impose prison sentences for expressing political opinions. Since October 7, 2023, this law — criticized  by both the European Court of Human Rights and by former “anti-terrorism” judges likes Marc Trévidic — has been used to repress students, activists, local elected representatives, trade union leaders like Jean-Paul Delescaut from the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), and intellectuals such as François Burgat, who is scheduled to stand trial on April 24 for simply expressing views that differ from those of the government.

This repressive legal policy is reinforced by a full-fledged media campaign, which goes as far as calling for extreme measures like revoking the French nationality of figures such as Rima Hassan. Prosecuting the spokesperson of a national political organization marks an unprecedented step. It is a real test for the state: if it results in a conviction, no one will be safe from persecution. It will set a dangerous precedent — making it possible to criminalize political opponents and critical intellectuals, label them as “terrorists,” place them on police watchlists, or even render them ineligible for public office. In the face of this growing repression — and beyond any political differences —it is essential  that we stand in solidarity with Anasse Kazib, his comrades, and all those being targeted for supporting Palestine. The fight against the oppression of the Palestinian people is inseparable from the fight against the criminalization of its supporters. Laws that treat political expression as a punishable crime and equate solidarity with Palestine with terrorism are tools of political repression. In this context, obtaining the acquittal of Anasse Kazib and his comrades is a crucial battle for the broader solidarity movement. On June 18, let’s use the trial of the Révolution Permanente activists as an opportunity to denounce state repression both in France and around the world. 

The undersigned demand that Anasse Kazib and all those persecuted for protesting and speaking out in solidarity with Palestine be acquitted!