Beyond Silence: Samidoun Activists Expose the Colonial System Behind Lebanese Detentions

By Fatima Salemeh

The continued detention of Lebanese detainees in “Israeli” prisons persists not only through secrecy, but through deliberate international silence that upholds a broader system of colonial domination, activists from the Samidoun Palestinian Detainee Solidarity Network told Al-Ahed News.

Samidoun activists Rawaa Al-Saghir and Khalidiyah Abu Bakra stressed that the issue of Lebanese detainees cannot be framed as a purely humanitarian concern. Al-Saghir emphasized that Samidoun views the case as “a national liberation cause connected to the struggle against Zionist colonialism and global imperialist reaction,” rejecting attempts to separate detention from the broader context of Resistance and liberation.

Explaining the network’s approach, al-Saghir noted that Samidoun’s work operates on several interconnected levels, combining political framing, grassroots organizing—particularly in South America—and international solidarity rooted in organized collective action.

She stressed that the objective is not only to amplify detainees’ voices, but to expose “the structural relationship between imprisonment, occupation, and colonial siege,” while confronting Western states that provide political and military cover for the “Israeli” entity.

Both activists firmly rejected claims of international neutrality. al-Saghir described international silence as a deliberate policy serving imperialism and Zionist colonialism, rather than a failure of awareness. Abu Bakra echoed this position, stating that “the complicit silence and impunity enjoyed by the Zionist entity constitute a crime in themselves,” enabling continued violations against Lebanese and Palestinian detainees.

On the ban preventing international organizations from visiting detainees, al-Saghir described the restriction as a blatant violation of international law and an extension of colonial control aimed at concealing systematic abuse. Abu Bakra added that the ban reflects the double standards of the international system, which recognizes detainees’ rights in principle while allowing their systematic violation in practice.

Looking ahead, both interviewees outlined ongoing and planned initiatives, including joint political statements, street mobilizations, and international solidarity campaigns. Abu Bakra highlighted efforts to translate detainees’ families’ testimonies and transform solidarity into sustained political pressure, stressing that Resistance to occupation “is a legitimate right,” and rejecting attempts to criminalize it.

The activists concluded that the fate of Lebanese detainees is inseparable from that of Palestinian detainees and from the broader struggle confronting Lebanon and Palestine under continued occupation, aggression, and imperial domination.