Imprisonment as a Tool of Colonial Repression: Defending Freedom and Dignity from Palestine to Global Struggles

This workshop addresses political imprisonment as a tool of domination and repression used in contexts of occupation, colonialism, authoritarianism, and armed conflicts, with a particular focus on the situation of Palestinian prisoners as a continuing example of grave human rights violations and breaches of international law.Amid the ongoing war on Gaza and the escalation of violations against the Palestinian people, Palestinian prisoners are facing increasingly severe conditions, including arbitrary detention, ill-treatment, torture, denial of fundamental rights, and policies that threaten their lives and dignity, including measures seeking to impose death penalties outside the framework of fair justice and international legal standards.The workshop aims to place the issue of Palestinian prisoners within a broader global context by connecting it with the struggles of peoples worldwide who have resisted colonialism, occupation, political repression, discrimination, and war, particularly across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and other regions.Bringing together social movements, human rights organizations, trade unions, and defenders of freedom and justice, the workshop will create a space to exchange experiences, strengthen international solidarity, and build collective strategies. It will reaffirm that defending the freedom and dignity of prisoners is an integral part of the global struggle for justice, liberation, and the rights of peoples.