On November 11, a Dutch court ruled that the Netherlands will extradite Mustafa Ayyash to Austria, after the country submitted a European arrest warrant for him. He will remain in the psychiatric wing of top security PI Vught prison until his extradition on November 17. Ayyash had been fighting his extradition, until the ruling last week, after being detained at Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands, on September 19.

Mustafa Ayyash case—Israel, UK, US criminalise ‘Gaza Now’ by claiming it supports Hamas

Ayyash is a Palestinian journalist and Founder of Gaza Now, one of the most popular online media outlets in Palestine, with millions of followers globally. ‘Israel’, the UK, and the US, have labelled Gaza Now a ‘Hamas-supporting media network‘, accusing Ayyash of participation in and spreading propaganda for a terrorist organisation. These accusations have been based on some bitcoin wallets that were used for humanitarian aid fundraising—according to Gaza Now—being linked to transactions with members of Hamas, and these bitcoin wallets have been linked to Ayyash. He continues to deny all allegations against him.

European extradition requests do not require much information. So neither of Ayyash’s lawyers have any more information other than what is on the sanction list.

Ayyash was in court this week for his extradition hearing. This was only the second time anyone outside of the prison—except his lawyer—had seen him since his arrest in September.

Handala Foundation: ‘Ayyash has been broken physically and mentally’

Wasim Abueleyan, from the Handala Foundation, says:

Ayyash has been broken physically and mentally. He was in a bad condition. He looked very thin and pale, and seemed to have a problem with his leg. He was stumbling. The picture we saw of him on the plane showed him looking very fit and well. He looks as if he has lost about 10kg since he went into jail.

There are fears Ayyash could be extradited to ‘Israel’ at a later date. Although there is currently no extradition request from ‘Israel’, if this happens his life would be in extreme danger. The Israeli occupation makes no secret it kidnaps, arbitrarily detains, and murders journalists, for speaking the truth.

Abueleyan says:

The lawyers and the Dutch media are not seeing Mustafa’s case as a political process. This is a big problem. They only focusing on the extradition, not the consequences of it, they aren’t checking how they will torture him in jail. Although they present themselves as human rights lawyers they have discouraged us from filing a report at the UN Committee Against Torture. But they’re aware Mustafa has spent a majority of the last 30 days in isolation, for very weak argumentations.

Mustafa Ayyash has been in solitary confinement for more than 15 days. This is torture.

The UN adopted the Nelson Mandela Rules in 2015. They establish minimum standards for the treatment of prisoners, prohibit torture, and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. They also prohibit placements in solitary confinement for more than 15 consecutive days—which is considered torture.

Abueleyan says Ayyash’s treatment is violating his human rights.

If someone is in pre-trial detention, it’s extra contraindicated to be using isolation, especially for this long. He has also been prevented from having contact with his family.

Dutch authorities have also physically abused Ayyash while he was detained. When he was able to speak with his brother each week, at the start of his detention in the Netherlands, Ayyash told him he had been beaten by the prison staff. Abueleyan says the date he claims this happened corresponds with his first day in Isolation.

We’ve studied his medical file extensively, and have confirmation that, at least during this day, they used force on Mustafa. Six people sat on top of him and forcibly injected him with sedatives.

Coordination of governments around the world in support of the abusive Israeli regime

The Israeli occupation is colluding with governments around the world, to silence those who speak out about its crimes against humanity. Each time, Hamas is used—with great success—as the excuse to silence Israeli regime critics, and destroy lives. ‘Israel’ and Western governments have intentionally manufactured hysteria around Hamas, to make this method of silencing so effective.

In January 2024, the Israeli regime initiated sanctions against Ayyash and Gaza Now. It issued seizure orders on Gaza Now’s cryptocurrency wallets and froze related assets. This was supposedly to “thwart the activity of the designated terrorist organisation Hamas”. Then, two months later, the UK and US jointly sanctioned Ayyash and Gaza Now.

Austria granted Ayyash asylum after the Israeli regime bombed his home in Gaza, killing all 40 occupants. He has Austrian citizenship. Austrian police violently raided his home, shortly after the UK and US sanction list was published. They left his pregnant wife permanently injured, but they did not charge Ayyash. He was arrested by Dutch authorities while travelling to the Netherlands, to file a complaint against Austria at the International Criminal Court (ICC), when he was arrested at the airport.

Ayyash’s detention sets a dangerous precedent

Abueleyan explains:

The investigation in Austria has been ongoing since April 2024. There’s no indication they have any new information. We’re hoping it might be different in Austria, as Mustafa has a house and his life there. There would be less fear of him fleeing. But seeing how it’s going so far, I have very little hope he will see the outside of a prison.

Austria will continue detaining Ayyash, until his hearing takes place, a few days after entering the country. Until then, the outcome of this case remains unknown. His detention sets a dangerous precedent, where political pressure outweighs justice and due process. It also highlights growing weaponisation of counter-terror laws to suppress journalism critical of the Israeli regime’s crimes against Palestinians. Those countries, while claiming to support press freedom and freedom of speech, are working with Israel to silence the truth. By doing this, they do not only undermine their own values, they also erode the protections journalists depend on—which are vital to holding power accountable.

Featured image via WikiMedia

By Charlie Jaay

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