RT anchor Abby Martin breaks the silence on Samer Issawi (includes transcript)

Abby Martin, anchor for news network Russia Today America, surprised both friend and foe on February 15 with a fierce call for the freedom of Samer Issawi, Palestinian prisoner on a hunger strike in protest against his illegal incarceration by the Israeli occupation forces.

This is the first time that an anchor of an English speaking news network breaks the silence about the cause of Samer Issawi, Ayman Sharawneh, Tariq Qa’adan and Jaafar Azzedine, whose hunger strikes against their imprisonment have ignited indignation and fury among the Palestinians and among human rights activists worldwide. The video of her call for solidarity is featured here in a video, with a transcript below it.

February 15th showed significant clashes outside of Ofer prison near Ramallah, resulting in many gunshot injuries among the demonstrators, inflicted by the Israeli occupation army. Typical of Israeli aggression against those working for the press, four among the injured were journalists who were covering the clashes. Palestinian activists on Twitter have been able to mobilize the masses on a daily basis, succeeding day after day at getting the hunger strikers’ cause to trend on the Worldwide trends list.

The fact that Abby Martin had the courage to speak out in such clear terms in support of Samer Issawi and the trending activism that is being undertaken in his name, is a source of extra inspiration that will not be ignored by the thousands who join us every day in our call for justice.

Join us every day on Twitter at 2pm EST/7 pm GMT/ 9pm Palestine time – but be sure to watch (and also share) Abby’s fantastic call to action with all your friends and acquaintances.

Check out the video, and read the transcript. See you on Twitter !

(transcript below the video by Doc Jazz)

“Hello, I’m Abby Martin. Today, Palestinians clashed with Israeli soldiers in several demonstrations held in support of Samer Issawi, political prisoner, who is being detained by Israeli forces. He was initially arrested by the Israeli army in 2002, and sentenced to 30 years in jail for protesting. Under a deal brokered with Egypt, he was released in 2011, along with 476 other prisoners. Tragically, Samer was once again last year for the crime of entering Jerusalem. For the last 206 days, he has been on a hunger strike in protest of being held without charges or trial. Now he is inching closer to death. Just look at him.

This is not about Samer Issawi, but hundreds of Palestinian prisoners that are being held in Israeli jails, many for similarly superficial crimes. This is about Palestine’s will to resist occupation. It’s about justice. Samer’s life is a symbol of so much, and that’s why his survival is so crucial. In fact, many are saying his death could serve as an impetus to another round of fighting and bloodshed.

So, as you start your weekend, think about Samer. Speak out. Tweet out his name or the hashtag #Palestinianheroes. Do whatever you can, because if he dies, a small piece of Palestinian hope will die with him.

Now let’s break the set.“

Thank you Abby !!!

Doc Jazz