Numerous Anglican bishops have written a letter of support for Layan Nasir, a Palestinian Christian woman who was held in detention by Israel for eight months despite not being charged or convicted of any crime.
Nasir, who lives within the West Bank, was first arrested by Israeli security services in 2021 on the age of 21. She was alleged to have been a supporter of the Democratic Progressive Student Pole, a student-led union that Israel has banned as a result of alleged terrorist associations.
She was held in custody for 2 months before being released on bond. Nasir was not convicted of any crime but spent the following two years out and in of court as key decisions regarding her case were continually deferred.
Last April Nasir was placed in “administrative detention” for eight months. Under such arrangements the Israeli security services can indefinitely remove the freedom of a one that is believed to be a security threat.
Now the Ofer Military Court is pushing for an eight-month prison sentence. Nasir’s lawyers try to achieve a plea deal that might see Nasir fined or subject to sanctions aside from imprisonment. So far the military prosecution has refused such overtures, demanding incarceration.
In their letter, the Bishops of Chelmsford, Gloucester, Norwich and Southwark, said that a further custodial sentence for Nasir could be a “travesty”, Church Times reports. Some of the bishops have previously met with Nasir while on visits to the Holy Land.
The letter, in line with Church Times, states, “We can only imagine the anxiety and stress that you feel and we wish to reassure you that you simply and your loved ones are very much in our thoughts and prayers.
“It could be a travesty in case your rehabilitation and reintegration back into society is interrupted by an extra custodial sentence on a spurious charge from over 4 years ago. We earnestly pray that a plea deal may be negotiated with the court that avoids such an consequence.”
The bishops said they’d also written to the Israeli Ambassador in London and the British Government “to be sure that the Military Court makes a good and just decision”.
Should Nasir be imprisoned, concerns have been raised for her safety as a result of the “extremely harsh” reality of Israeli prisons and the indisputable fact that Nasir could be the one Christian inmate.
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