As we have mentioned in a previous blog we will be zooming with Mahmoud on Saturday afternoon. We are now really pleased to say more about our other guests.
Umm Jabr
The programme schedule is here
Nihad Wahdan (known as “Umm Jabr”): She was sentenced for 21 years; which were then reduced to three years and prohibition of travel for 21 years. She began formal political and social activities through the Student Youth Movement in 1984. She is a mother of nine children and she has also worked on progressive legal and social change, including advocating for a woman’s right.
Qutaiba Musallam: from the village of Talfet near Nablus. He spent a total of 33 years of his life in prison. He was imprisoned four times. The latest arrest , in 2000, resulted in him being for 37 years . He was released in 2025 in the prisoner exchange that took place in January 2025 after 24.5 years. He is married and has 5 children and 11 grandchildren.
On his photo in the slideshow above to the left of him is a quite from one of hs novels:
Prison does not confine a body; it liberates a soul.
Anas Abu Srour: we focused on Anas in our newsletter when he was arrested in 2024; at this time his child was three months old. Anas, executive director of Aida Youth Centre, will talk to us about the impact on him personally but also wider social impacts of the imprisonment drive by the occupation forces.
Sahar Francis: We are so lucky to be able to welcome Sahar. She is a Palestinian lawyer and human rights defender, with long expertise in international humanitarian law, international human rights law and international criminal law. She previously worked in Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association for the last 27 years, defending Palestinian political prisoners under the Israeli occupation.
During her long career, Francis worked closely with the UN Special Procedures system and appeared as a witness in front of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza War – Goldstone, and the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Francis received numerous awards for her work, including the 7th “ Alicia Salcedo” award of Equality of the Oviedo Bar Association on 2024.
Heba Muraisi: Many of us in Sheffield travelled to Newhall Prison late in 2025 and early this year as Heba’s hunger strike lengthened into dangerous territory. One of the Filton 25, Heba was arrested on November 19th 2024 on allegations of being connected to the Filton action . She was held on remand until released in February 2026 after widespread support and activism. She faces trial later this year.
Heba will talk to use about imprisonment as a tool for silencing resistance.