Dareen Tatour

Dareen Tatour (born 16 April 1982 in Reineh) is a Palestinian poet, photographer, and social media activist from Reineh, Israel, who writes in Arabic, her mother tongue.[1] Following the publication of a poem on social media, she was tried and convicted in 2018 in an Israeli court for "inciting violence" and "supporting a terrorist organisation",[2][3][4] being released in September, 2018.[5] In May 2019, her conviction for the poem was overturned but her conviction for other social media posts was upheld.

Dareen Tatour

In 2019, she received the Oxfam Novib/PEN Award for Freedom of Expression.[6]

Social media posts and arrest

She has published her work on Facebook, and YouTube.[7]

In October 2015, Tatour published a poem on YouTube and Facebook titled "Qawem Ya Shaabi Qawemahum" ("Resist my people, resist them"),[8] where the words were cited as the soundtrack to images of Palestinians in violent confrontations with Israeli troops.[9] This led to her arrest and indictment for incitement to violence and for support of a terrorist organization. A full translation of the poem as made by a police officer is cited in the indictment document. The rest of the indictment relates to three Facebook publications: (i) the picture of Israa Abed, a women from Nazareth, laid on the ground of the central bus station in Afula after she was shot by Israeli soldiers and guards; (ii) a profile picture with the Arabic writing "Ana Al-Shahid Al-Jay" ("I am the next martyr"); and (iii) a post citing the call by Islamic Jihad for Intifada in the West Bank and calling for Intifada inside the green line for the Al-Aqsa Mosque.[7]

Reactions

According to the BBC, "the poet's case has become a cause celebre for free speech advocates and has drawn attention to a recent rise in Israeli arrests - of Israeli Arabs and Palestinians in the occupied West Bank - accused of incitement or planning attacks online"[10] The PEN American Center condemned her arrest and sentencing in 2016,[11][12] organized letter-writing campaigns on her behalf,[13] and following her conviction in May 2018 stated that the conviction “relies on a wanton mischaracterization of her work and is an unacceptable attack on freedom of expression in Israel”.[14] Her arrest was condemned by Jewish Voice for Peace.

Trial, sentence and successful appeal

She was convicted on May 3, 2018,[15] and on 31 July 2018 sentenced to five months' imprisonment.[7] She was released in September, 2018.[5]

In May 2019, the Nazareth District Court overturned her conviction for the poem, though not the convictions for other social media posts.[16] The court ruled that the poem did not "involve unequivocal remarks that would provide the basis for a direct call to carry out acts".[16] The court noted that Tatour was known as a poet and that "freedom of expression is accorded added weight when it also involves freedom of artistic and creative [expression]".[16]

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References
  1. Levy, Gideon; Levac, Alex (May 21, 2016). "In 2016 Israel, a Palestinian Writer Is in Custody for Her Poetry". Haaretz.
  2. Shpigel, Noa (March 5, 2018). "Israel Convicts Palestinian Poet Dareen Tatour of Incitement to Violence, Supporting Terror". Haaretz.
  3. "Arab Israeli poet convicted of incitement to violence: Dareen Tatour also found guilty of supporting Islamic Jihad terror group; judge says free speech has limits". Times of Israel. 3 May 2018.
  4. "Israel convicts Palestinian poet Dareen Tatour of Facebook 'incitement'". Middle East Eye. 3 May 2018.
  5. Israeli Arab Poet Dareen Tatour, Convicted of Incitement, Released From Prison, Noa Shpigel and Jack Khoury, September 20, 2018, Haaretz
  6. "Oxfam Novib/PEN International 2019 award for freedom of expression announced". PEN International. 17 February 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  7. Israeli Arab Poet Dareen Tatour Gets Five-month Sentence for Incitement on Social Media, Haaretz, 31 July 2018
  8. "The Poem for Which Dareen Tatour's Under House Arrest: 'Resist, My People, Resist Them'".
  9. Awad, Ammar (31 July 2018). "Dareen Tatour sentenced to five months in prison over poem". Al-Jazeera. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  12. Poetry Foundation
  13. : "Ever since her 2015 arrest, international organizations and prominent writers abroad have advocated for Tatour. PEN America, among others, has organized letter-writing campaigns on her behalf."
  14. Pen america statement
  15. "Dreen Tatour: Israeli Arab poet convicted of incitement". BBC. May 3, 2018.
  16. Jack Khoury (May 16, 2019). "Israeli Court Clears Palestinian of Incitement to Violence Over 'Resist' Poem". Haaretz.
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