UN experts slam Swiss arrest of pro-Palestinian US journalist

UN rights experts have decried the arrest in Switzerland at the weekend of a pro-Palestinian US journalist who raised concerns about waning freedom of speech in Europe.

Ali Abunimah, the executive director of online publication Electronic Intifada, was arrested on Saturday in Zurich, where he had been scheduled to speak at an event, the publication said.

Zurich police confirmed to AFP that Abunimah, 53, was arrested Saturday afternoon, suggesting in a press release that he had violated an entry ban.

It said "immigration law measures" would be examined.

Two United Nations rights experts decried the arrest.

"Shocking news!" wrote the UN special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, Irene Khan, on X on Sunday, urging Switzerland to "urgently investigate and release" Abunimah.

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, responded that she shared Khan's shock and also urged "a prompt investigation".

"The climate surrounding freedom of speech in Europe is becoming increasingly toxic, and we should all be concerned," she said on X.

UN special rapporteurs are independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but do not speak on behalf of the world body.

A petition launched on Sunday by the pro-Palestinian Swiss Action for Human Rights NGO described Abunimah as an award-winning Palestinian-American journalist and human rights defender, and demanded his "immediate release".

The petition, which by Monday afternoon had gathered nearly 15,000 signatures, said he was being "held in administrative detention by the Zurich cantonal police who intend to deport him out of the country on Monday".