Stolen from Celts for independence: On the 15th of June Palestinian footballer Mahmoud Sarsak will take part in a charity football match between the Green Brigade and friends at Petershill Sports Complex, Springburn. The day will begin with a film screening from “Football Beyond Borders” about a university football teams tour of the Middle East, including Palestine, at 12pm. Joining us will be those who embarked on the tour to open up discussion after the film. Following that, the teams will go head to head at 1pm with Mahmoud playing a half for each side.Mahmoud was arrested whilst travelling from his hometown of Rafah in Gaza as he attempted to cross one of Israels many checkpoints with the intention of attending the Palestinian national sides training ground in the West Bank. Unfortunately, Mahmoud never made it to training that day. He was detained and interrogated for 30 days, showing signs of torture when his lawyer was finally allowed to see him after 10 days. Mahmoud was sent to an Israeli jail to which he would stay for three years without ever being charged or brought to trial. He received widespread global support after he began a hunger strike to protest his unlawful detention. Footballers such as Eric Cantona campaigned for his release as well as FIFA’s President Sepp Blatter condemning Israel for their “violation of integrity and human rights”. Finally, after 92 days on hunger strike, Mahmoud secured his release and triumphed against injustice.Join Mahmoud and the Green Brigade on Saturday the 15th of June for an afternoon of football and solidarity with those who fight against oppression and injustice. There will be a collection before and after the match with all money going to Addameer Prisoner Support and Humanitarian Association, a group that helped Mahmoud and continues to provide the much needed support to those political prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Jun 2013 18:36:05 +0000