Al Haq staff member faces ongoing death threats in connection with human rights defense for Palestinians

Al-Haq and members of its staff have been subjected to an ongoing threats and harassment in an apparent reprisal for their work to promote and defend the rights of people living in Palestine.

Nada Kiswanson, Al-Haq’s staff member who lives in the Netherlands, has received anonymous emails, threatening phone calls and other forms of intimidation in connection with her work with the International Criminal Court (ICC), based in The Hague. A seasoned human rights lawyer, Kiswanson has provided the ICC information related to one of its called ‘preliminary examinations,’ which the Court is conducting to assess possible war crimes committed in Palestine by Israel.

As reported by The Dutch newspaper, NRC, in an article published today (more information available here), this is apparently the first instance whereby a human rights activist working with the International Criminal Court has come under threat in the Netherlands.

Kiswanson holds Jordanian and Swedish nationalities and she lives with her Dutch husband and daughter near The Hague. Reportedly, menacing phone calls have also come to her home. In early June, Al-Haq denounced the distribution of flyers for a false campaign to raise donations for the Islamic and refugee community in Holland. The fliers used Al-Haq’s name and logo, in a baseless attempt to implicate the organization in activities in which it does not participate. The flyers identified the home address of Al-Haq’s Europe representative as the collection point for the donations.

In the face of this ongoing harassment and intimidation, Al-Haq underscores its commitment to support Nada and her critical work to defend the rights of people living in Palestine.