Palestinian Forum in Britain launches campaign to free Dr Hussam Abu Safiyyah
The Palestinian Forum in Britain (PFB) has announced the launch of a new solidarity campaign calling for the release of Dr Hussam Abu Safiyyah and all Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons.
The initiative will take the form of a quiet, symbolic action titled the “Red Ribbons Campaign”, scheduled for Saturday 20 December at Oxford Circus in central London, starting at 1:00 pm.
The Forum explained that the event is not a protest or a march, but a peaceful, silent act of solidarity. Participants will hang red ribbons and display specially designed stickers calling for freedom and justice, aiming to convey a powerful humanitarian message to the British and international public about the plight of Palestinian detainees.
PFB has invited participants to bring red ribbons if possible, stressing that presence itself is a statement, and that calm, symbolic solidarity can often speak louder than chants—particularly amid ongoing attempts to criminalise or restrict pro-Palestine activism in public spaces across Britain.
The red ribbon: a global symbol for Palestinian prisoners
In a statement accompanying the campaign, the Palestinian Forum in Britain said the initiative seeks to establish the red ribbon as a global symbol highlighting the cause of Palestinian prisoners, and to draw attention to their status as hostages held by the occupation.
The Forum pointed to what it described as an “unprecedented escalation” in Israeli detention policies, including prolonged detention without charge, solitary confinement, starvation, and enforced disappearance. The choice of the colour red, it added, reflects danger, urgency, and the ongoing human suffering inside Israeli prisons, serving as a call to the global conscience not to normalise silence in the face of such abuses.
Alarming figures on Palestinian detainees as of December 2025
The campaign is grounded in data documented by Palestinian prisoners’ rights organisations, as well as figures released by the Israeli Prison Service up to December 2025, which reveal a deeply alarming reality:
- Around 9,300 Palestinian prisoners and detainees are currently held in Israeli prisons, the majority of them pre-trial detainees or held under administrative detention. This figure does not include detainees held in Israeli military camps.
- The number of sentenced prisoners stands at 1,254.
- There are 51 female prisoners, including two children.
- Approximately 350 Palestinian children are imprisoned, held mainly in Ofer and Megiddo prisons.
- The number of administrative detainees has reached 3,350.
- Around 1,220 detainees are classified as “unlawful combatants”, a category that does not include all Gaza detainees held in military camps and also encompasses Arab detainees from Lebanon and Syria.
The Forum said these figures point to a system of mass incarceration characterised by the denial of basic legal and human rights, amounting to clear violations of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions.
An open call for solidarity
The Palestinian Forum in Britain concluded by calling on people of conscience across the UK to take part in the Red Ribbons Campaign, stressing that the issue of Palestinian prisoners—foremost among them Dr Hussam Abu Safiyyah—is not merely a Palestinian cause, but a matter of justice and human dignity that must remain visible in the public sphere, regardless of growing attempts at marginalisation or suppression.
Read More:
ShortURL ⬇
