US designates Palestinian refugee in Germany ‘terrorist’ over human rights activism
The US has designated Zaid Abdulnasser, a 30-year-old stateless Palestinian refugee based in Berlin, as a terrorist and imposed sanctions on him over his advocacy for Palestinians imprisoned by the Israeli regime, a report says.
The US Treasury Department placed Abdulnasser on its sanctions list on Wednesday, meaning financial institutions dealing with him could face pressure from Washington and potentially cut ties with his accounts, according to a report by Drop Site.
Because international payment networks rely heavily on US banks and dollar transactions, Abdulnasser said the measures could “completely paralyze” him financially.
“I was frightened. The authorities did not contact me beforehand; they just put me on the list,” Abdulnasser told Drop Site in an interview.
Abdulnasser, who has a six-month-old child, said he believes the move is part of a wider effort to restrict Palestinian human rights advocacy.
“On this list are Palestine Action, International Criminal Court judges, and Palestinian resistance factions,” he said, adding, “My listing is part of a broader attempt to crush the Palestinian liberation struggle and protect the Israeli occupation from prosecution.”
A Palestinian refugee born in Syria, Abdulnasser has lived in Berlin since 2017 and has worked on campaigns concerning Palestinian prisoners and Palestinian rights.
His lawyer, Alexander Gorski, said they are now carefully examining legal options to challenge the US measures.
“Mr. Abdulnasser has not committed a criminal offense. And nobody is accusing him of that … This is about legal political activity, mainly for Palestinian prisoners,” Gorski told Drop Site.
The sanctions come as Washington expands economic measures against people and organizations involved in pro-Palestinian activism, according to the report.
US Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent said Washington would use its economic powers against groups it considers “security threats,” while Gorski described the action against his client as part of a broader US crackdown on Palestinian rights activism.
According to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society, since October 7, 2023, when Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza, the regime has abducted nearly 25,000 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and the besieged enclave.
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