Introduction

On 25 June 2011, the celebrated Palestinian social, political and civil rights leader Sheikh Raed Salah arrived at London's Heathrow airport at the invitation of the independent media research and information organisation, the Middle East Monitor (MEMO). The purpose of his visit was to take part in a widely publicised ten-day programme of speaking engagements across the UK. During his visit, Sheikh Raed was scheduled to address the British public and parliamentarians on issues related to the Middle East and the plight of Palestinians living in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Three days into his trip, Sheikh Raed was arrested and detained by the UK Border Agency (UKBA) and then told that he would face deportation.

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, 7 NOVEMBER 2011

"May this tribunal prevent the crime of silence"
Bertrand Russell, London, 13 November 1966

The Russell Tribunal on Palestine (RToP) is an international citizen-based Tribunal of conscience created in response to the demands of civil society (NGOs, charities, unions, faith-based organisations) to inform and mobilise public opinion and put pressure on decision makers. In view of the failure to implement the Advisory Opinion of 9 July 2004 of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) concerning the construction by Israel of a wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the failure to implement resolution ES-10/15 confirming the ICJ Opinion, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 20 July 2004, and the Gaza events of December 2008 – January 2009, committees were established in different countries to promote and sustain a citizen's initiative in support of the rights of the Palestinian people.

The Conservative Middle East Council have just launched their very first publication, The Arab Spring: Implications for British Policy. It is a compilation of essays which brings together some of the foremost experts on the region in fourteen concise chapters providing crucial analysis on one of the most significant events in recent world history.

His name has been in the news a lot recently, but who exactly is Abdul Hakim Belhadj, the military commander of the Libyan rebels?

In March 2010, Al Jazeera broadcast a film of a meeting between Belhadj after his release from prison in Libya under the initiative of the Gaddafi Charity Foundation following the intervention of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi. More than 700 of the "leaders" of the Libyan Fighting Group have been released in stages, even though they were accused of joining Al-Qaeda; some were also accused of fighting in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan. In the film, Abdul Hakim Belhadj praises the mediation of Dr Saif al-Islam for his release.