The head of Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq has been refused a visa by France, preventing him from attending key briefings at the French parliament, French foreign ministry and the Council of Europe.
Shawan Jabarin was expected to appear before the European Parliament's human rights committee in Strasbourg on Tuesday and was scheduled to meet with officials at the French foreign ministry on Thursday.
However, the general director of Al-Haq, which is based in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, had his visa application denied by authorities in Europe and France for the second time since September, when the US sanctioned the Palestinian group.
A representative of Al-Haq told Middle East Eye that Jabarin, who was presented on behalf of Al-Haq with the French republic’s human rights prize in 2018, alongside Israeli rights group B'Tselem, was also scheduled to attend briefings in the French parliament and in Belgium.
France’s last-minute refusal to grant him a national visa meant that Jabarin could not attend any of these meetings. In 2022, the 66-year-old Palestinian met French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace.
