Layan Nasir has been released from administrative detention by the Israeli authorities, Palestinian Lutheran pastor Munther Isaac reported on X. In a statement posted on 5 Dec 2024 Isaac wrote: “Layan Nasir is free. We pray for freedom for all prisoners of justice and all detainees”.
Nasir, a 23-year-old Palestinian Anglican woman from Birzeit, a town near Ramallah in the West Bank, was arrested by Israeli military forces on 7 April 2024, at her family home. Her arrest was conducted by approximately 20 soldiers who entered the house at dawn without presenting an arrest warrant or charges. She was subsequently placed in administrative detention on 15 April 2024 and held at Damon Prison near Haifa.
Layan Nasir’s detention by Israeli authorities is believed to be due to her involvement in student activities at Birzeit University, which are associated with the Progressive Democratic Students Pole, a group linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The PLFP opposes a two-state solution and instead calls for the creation of a democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine through armed struggle. Both its political and military wings are listed as foreign terrorist organizations by the European Union and the United States. It is the principal left-wing opposition to the ruling Fatah party in the West Bank. The PDSP student group was banned by Israeli authorities in 2020 due to its links to the terrorist organization.
Despite meeting bail conditions and attending court hearings since her first arrest in 2021, Layan was re-arrested last April. The use of administrative detention allows Israel to hold individuals without charge or trial, based on secret evidence that is not disclosed to the detainee or their legal counsel.
Nasir’s detention sparked protests from the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Episcopal Church of the USA. The Episcopal Church has been actively advocating for Layan Nasir’s release. Episcopal church leaders expressed deep concern over her detention without charge and the broader system of administrative detention affecting many Palestinians. The church has been in contact with her family and priest, urging international intervention, including from the Biden administration, to secure her release.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, has criticized Israel for Layan’s arrest, stating that her case breaches assurances regarding the treatment of Christians, highlighting the controversial nature of administrative detention used to hold Palestinians without charge.
