cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/19831

Abunimah was arbitrarily arrested and deported from Zurich last year while traveling to a conference on Israel’s genocide in Gaza

Ali Abunimah, co-founder of the Electronic Intifada (EI), filed a criminal complaint with the public prosecutor of the Canton of Zurich against Nicoletta della Valle, the former head of Switzerland’s federal police, over his illegal arrest, detention, and deportation in Zurich last year.

In an article titled “Why I filed criminal charges against Switzerland’s former top cop,” published on 12 January, Abunimah accuses della Valle of abuse of office in relation to events that unfolded after he entered Switzerland legally on 24 January 2025.

The following day, he wrote, he was seized off the street by plainclothes officers while traveling to speak at a public event about Israel’s genocide in Gaza, forced into an unmarked vehicle, and taken to prison.

He stated that he was held for three days without contact with his family or the outside world. After that, he was transferred to the airport, placed in handcuffs and a cage, and deported, a sequence of actions he said had no legal basis.

In a ruling dated 19 December 2025, the Administrative Court of the Canton of Zurich determined that Abunimah’s arrest and detention violated both the Swiss constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights, with the decision directly contradicting the actions taken by federal police under della Valle’s authority.

Abunimah also cited a Swiss parliamentary committee report issued in November 2025, which found “a series of irregularities” surrounding his arrest and pointed to improper political interference by della Valle.

According to the report, the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol) had initially rejected a request to bar Abunimah from entering the country, concluding that his views were protected speech and that he posed no security threat.

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