Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality
פורום דו-קיום בנגב לשוויון אזרחי
منتدى التعايش السلمي في النقب من أجل المساواة المدنية

We would like to update you on the arrest of a Bedouin pharmacy student and activist Miriam Abu Kwider, on Thursday 12.5.2022. She was arrested by police in civilian clothes on the campus of Ben-Gurion University, following a demonstration in memory of journalist Sheerin Abu Akla, which was held that day at the university. She had been previously investigated by the Israeli Security Agency for publishing allegedly inciting content on social media.

The Negev Coexistence Forum together with Adalah and the Human Rights Defenders Fund assisted in obtaining the legal representation of Adv. Shahde Ibn Bari. A group of students organized another protest rally on 16.5.2022 during a hearing on Miriam’s case, at the end of which her detention was extended until 17.5.2022.

An appeal filed by Adv. Ibn Bari was rejected and on Thursday 19.5.2022 another hearing was held and her detention was extended until Sunday 22.5.2022. That same day the court ruled that Mariam would remain under house arrest for two weeks with a ban on using the phone or computer.

Since 1968, IWGIA has cooperated with indigenous organisations and international institutions to promote recognition and implementation of the rights of indigenous peoples. IWGIA works to empower indigenous peoples through documentation, capacity development and advocacy on local, regional and international level. Every year, IWGIA issues a book: The Indigenous World. The book is the result of a collaborative effort between indigenous and non-indigenous activists and scholars who voluntarily share their valuable insights and analysis.This year, NCF contributed to documentation of the Arab Bedouin indigenous people of the Negev/Naqab.

Continue reading (page 510)  IWGIA website 

The Finnish Ambassador HE Ambassador Ms Kirsikka Lehto-Asikainen, and her staff visited the villages of al-ʿArāgīb and as-Sirrah last week and heard about the history of the villages and the governmental policy. They also visited an exhibition of photographs taken by Bedouin children, displayed at Kaye College, and heard from NCF’s staff about the various projects on the field.

Thank you to the staff of the Embassy of Finland for their willingness to tour the Naqab and hear the residents’ stories and their struggle for equal rights and justice.