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Paris- At around 6:40 a.m. last Tuesday, young man Yanis Arab woke up to the voice of his mother screaming, “Zaher (his father’s name), they want to kill us,” upon hearing a loud explosion at the door and seeing dozens of masked and armed men storming the house.
A doctoral student in history, lecturer, and author of several books on… Palestine From his room, the armed security men asked him to lie on the floor and tied him, his 16-year-old brother, and his cousin, to the astonishment of his mother, who filmed what was happening, saying, “Because my son defends the Palestinian cause, he has become a terrorist today.”
According to Arab's own statements to Al Jazeera Net, the special teams went to his room to confiscate his phone and computer, and also took pictures of several books, including academic books and the Holy Quran.
Arrest and search
The French police arrested Yannis (31 years old) in his home in the town of Meran, 20 kilometers from the city of Grenoble, in a strict search operation on charges of “apologizing for terrorism” before releasing him hours later, but his personal belongings are still in custody as part of the ongoing investigation.
In the 8-page investigation report, Arab mentioned several references and texts in international law that guarantee the right to resistance, to prove his position, which he has believed in since he was 20 years old and is the result of long research and clear thinking, he said.
He explained that the Public Prosecutor in Grenoble offered to conduct an investigation into condoning terrorism and to ask questions related to his publications on Facebook Written by V October 7, 2023especially about what he was thinking at the time, and Yannis assured him that the acts of violent resistance came in a colonial context that Palestine was experiencing, and “I cannot condemn Palestinian violence without reversing the order of causes and results.”
To explain his position in a historical and documented manner, Yannis referred to the French general Charles de Gaulle Who confirmed on November 23, 1967, that “Israel is pursuing an occupation of the lands it has seized, which cannot pass without repression, which explains the presence of the Palestinian resistance today, which Israel in turn describes as terrorism.”
He also referred – in the investigation – to the anti-regime Apartheid in South Africa Nelson MandelaBecause he has a prominent position in Grenoble, and in supporting the Palestinian resistance, he previously stressed that “Israel is an oppressor and the oppressed Palestinian is the one who determines the form of the struggle.” Yannis told the prosecutor that the oppressor's use of violence “will leave the oppressed with no choice but to use violence in return,” saying, “If you prosecute me for calling for terrorism, you must first revive de Gaulle and Mandela, who defended this right to armed resistance.”
He added that the investigator was impartial and committed to taking only his statements, and had it not been for the arrival of the lawyer Rafiq Shekhat from Marseille assigned to his case at around five in the evening, he would have spent the night in the cell alone.
Restriction of freedom
This is not the first time that security personnel have come to Yannis Arab’s home. Last December, some officers “quietly” arrived at his place of residence to inform him that he had been prevented from attending a conference in Grenoble, an order believed to have come under pressure from… Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (Kriv).
He commented on this by saying, “They knocked on the door and there was no violence or searching through my things. They just asked me to sign a paper before leaving.”
Arab – who is of Algerian origin – stressed the need to highlight the issue of obstructing his academic freedom, because the security men took his phone and computer, which contains the archive of his research and thesis. He said, “The gendarmes told me that they would transport these items to Grenoble so that an expert would copy and analyze the data with the prior approval of the Public Prosecutor, but that would take a long time given that my case was not a priority, as they put it.”
Yannis is using his father's phone at the moment and explains that he feels isolated from the world, unable to access his email inbox, and completely stripped of his ability to work because he has to write an article for Palestinian studies and it must be sent in the middle of this month.
Among the academic matters that occupies his mind is whether he will be able to respond to the invitation of the French Institute of the Near East and the French Institute in Ramallah To present the topic of his research early next month on “Algerian immigration to Palestine during the colonial era.”
Regarding the impact of all these events on his psyche, Yannis said that he suffers from very bad migraines and is taking anti-depressant treatment. “I do not hide from you that I woke up this morning in a miserable state and I know that I need to move forward with my life and continue to complete my work that I was forced to put on hold.” “Out of my control.”
Politics of intimidation
Amid the condemnation of a number of activists and associations in solidarity with Palestine, this file is added to other files of people who were treated in the same way in the context of increasing suppression of voices defending the Palestinian cause in France.
Yannis says, “When I remember the stark contrast between the horror of the violence I was subjected to and the search, and the fact that I was released after 6 hours of interrogation, it will seem as if I pose a tangible threat to internal security or are planning a terrorist attack.”
He stressed that he had never threatened the French state and that this was not the reason for what happened at all, because “what is at stake today is criticism of Israel’s actions and the legitimate condemnation ofFor genocideHe translated this as “the long history of colonial oppression and violence against yellow vest demonstrations.”
In his opinion, what he was exposed to came in the context of the growing desire to intimidate, silence voices, and apply unfair measures against those in solidarity with Palestine who demand the right of the Palestinian people to resist, which is guaranteed by international law. He pointed out that no investigation had been conducted against French-Israelis for crimes in Gazawhich indicates “the presence of bias and a desire to intimidate to hinder just and humane pro-Palestinian approaches that call for respect for human dignity and justice.”
This case is not over yet and the police told him that once the data was taken from his devices, he would be summoned again. “Either I will be tried on charges of terrorism or I will be fired from work. In fact, I have no idea what will actually happen. It may continue for several months, but at the moment I am free and I can travel”.
The most important and dangerous thing for Arab is the trauma he and his family were exposed to, because this constitutes an obstacle to academic freedom, especially since there are a number of researchers and professors who want to sign a petition to support him, as he confirms.
