The global digital campaign ‘Red Ribbons’ has been launched as a solidarity initiative aimed at highlighting the grave violations Israel inflicts on Palestinian prisoners in occupation prisons, in an attempt to bring their cause back to the forefront of international attention after years of marginalisation and deliberate neglect.
Red Ribbons campaign
The campaign uses the red ribbon as a unified symbol of solidarity with prisoners, with organisers calling on activists, human rights organisations and media outlets around the world to post images and publications bearing this symbol on social media platforms, accompanied by messages demanding protection for prisoners and an end to systematic violations against them.
The campaign organisers explained that the ‘red ribbons’ came in response to the escalation of crimes inside prisons, including physical and psychological torture, medical negligence, solitary confinement, and the mistreatment of released prisoners and their families, amid continued international silence. They emphasised that the campaign seeks to break this silence and transform the issue of prisoners from a forgotten file to a matter of global public opinion.
The campaign coordinators said that the choice of red tape has deep symbolic significance, representing the blood, suffering and arbitrary arrests suffered by Palestinian prisoners, stressing that the aim is to turn the colour red into a permanent global symbol for the prisoners’ cause, rather than just a passing publicity stunt.
For its part, the Palestinian Forum in Britain, which launched a version of the campaign, explained that the name ‘Red Ribbons’ reflects the real danger and abuse experienced by prisoners at the hands of Israel, and aims to raise global awareness in a powerful visual way that highlights the extent of the violations.
Israel’s use of torture and violence
The launch of the campaign coincided with the widespread circulation of images and videos documenting Israel’s humiliating, violent, and illegal practices against Palestinians, which activists considered further evidence of the systematic policy of humiliation pursued by the occupation, both inside and outside prisons.
This campaign comes amid a dangerous escalation in the occupation’s policies towards Palestinian prisoners, particularly with the passage of the so-called prisoner execution law, which gives Israeli courts broader powers to impose the death penalty, in a move described as a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.
The organisers of ‘Red Ribbons’ called on the international media to treat the issue of prisoners as a human rights issue first and foremost, away from political descriptions, demanding that human rights and international institutions open independent investigations and hold those responsible for these violations accountable.
The Red Ribbons campaign is one of the most prominent digital solidarity initiatives in recent times, amid hopes that it will contribute to expanding the circle of global solidarity and keeping the suffering of Palestinian prisoners in the consciousness of humanity and states.
Featured image via the Canary
By Alaa Shamali
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