This Tuesday, October 8 at 6:30 a.m., gendarmes broke down the door of Yannis Arab’s home, in Moirans (38) where he lives with his parents. In front of them, the gendarmes handcuffed him and seized his computer before taking him into custody. A year after the attacks of October 7, the repression against supporters of the Palestinian cause continues to intensify.
Police custody lifted, but investigation continues
Yannis Arab, doctoral student in history, lecturer and author of several works on the Palestinian cause, was placed in police custody on Tuesday for acts of “apology of terrorism”, which would have been committed between 2022 and 2024, following the filing of a complaint filed in particular by the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF). In question, the publication of a video dating from September 22, but also a declaration of support for the imam of the Pessac mosque (Gironde) Abdouramane Ridouane, detained and soon deported to Niger for his pro-Palestinian positions
The St-Marcellin gendarmerie in Isère violently arrested Yannis Arab at his home on Tuesday at 6:30 a.m., breaking the front door, then taking him away, after having previously handcuffed him and seized his computer, in front of his parents. At the beginning of the afternoon, while a support rally had been organized by Urgence Palestine 73 et 38, police custody was finally lifted by decision of the prosecution. However, the investigation continues, Yannis Arab’s computer will be examined and a new hearing may take place.
As denounced by Maître Rafik Chekkat, Yannis Arab’s lawyer, in a press release the arrest and custody of Yannis Arab are “yet another procedure which aims to repress individuals and organizations which denounce the ongoing massacres in Gaza and Lebanon [… ] “. While nearly 800 procedures for “apology of terrorism” have been initiated over the past year, the repression of supporters of Palestine has not finished getting tougher as the reactionary government of Barnier, and especially the Minister of Education senior, Patrick Hetzel, have already promised war on expressions of solidarity with Palestine, particularly in universities. A situation which requires more than ever to build a broad front of solidarity against repression and for the right to defend the Palestinian cause.
