Solidarity with Natalie Abudayyeh, Joulan Abu Awwad, Sama Safi, and Laila Khalil and all the students whose names we do not know!

End apartheid!

Peace and freedom for all Palestinian students!

On June 2, Palestinian students Natalie Abudayyeh, Joulan Abu Awwad, Sama Safi, and Laila Khalil were arrested by the Israeli occupation army (IDF). That same night, 30 Palestinians were arrested across the West Bank as part of a raid.

Natalie studies media studies and journalism at Birzeit University and is also a member of the Palestinian national soccer team. Birzeit University has repeatedly been targeted by the Israeli occupation army. In early 2026, troops stormed in broad daylight and injured over 40 individuals. This was not an isolated incident, but rather part of a continuous pattern against Birzeit University and all universities across Palestine. Universities all over the Gaza Strip have been bombed and reduced to ruins. Al-Quds University has been subjected to tear gas raids. In early 2024, Israeli forces raided An-Najah National University at dawn and detained approximately 25 students from its campus. We deeply condemn these actions, classified as a scholasticide by UN experts. These atrocities undermine the universal right to education, which was unanimously agreed upon by the United Nations in 1966 in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, to enable personal development and peace: “The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to education. They agree that education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and the sense of its dignity, and shall strengthen the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. They further agree that education shall enable all persons to participate effectively in a free society, promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations and all racial, ethnic or religious groups, and further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.”

Natalie Abudayyeh is now one of thousands of Palestinians who remain in Israeli custody without charges or trial in so called The “administrative detention”. Thousands of Palestinians are affected by this practice, including even minors and children – in their right of education as in all other human rights.  

Administrative detention also blatantly contradicts the principles of the rule of law. It is now clear that Natalie is being held at Damon Prison. She is not allowed any personal contact with her family or her lawyer. It is widely known that conditions for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons are catastrophic. Reports of inhumane conditions—especially for female prisoners—are mounting, particularly from Damon Prison.

The struggle against the arbitrariness of the Israeli authorities and against the denial of rights to Palestinian prisoners is part of our broader struggle for undivided and universal human rights, for peace in the Middle East, and for an end to the illegal apartheid throughout Palestine.

We call on all students at the University of Cologne and all over the world to show solidarity with imprisoned Palestinian students.

We demand the immediate release of Natalie Abudayyeh and her fellow students!

There must be an immediate end to Israeli administrative detention and the release of all Palestinian prisoners from Israeli torture prisons!