Ahmad is the imprisoned General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a Palestinian national liberation movement leader and a symbol of the international left and revolutionary movements. He was sentenced to 30 years in Israeli prison on 25 December 2008, accused of leading a prohibited organization and “incitement.” The PFLP, like all Palestinian political parties and resistance organizations, is labeled a “prohibited organization” by the Israeli occupation authorities.

While held in the PA’s Jericho Prison, Sa’adat and his comrades were held under U.S. and British guards, making clear that this imprisonment was anything but an exercise of Palestinian sovereignty. Indeed, some of those same British guards previously served to guard Irish Republican prisoners in the occupied North of Ireland. His case highlights the role of U.S. and British imperialism in the subjugation of the Palestinian people and the theft of Palestinian land as well as the subservient role of the Palestinian Authority that continues “security coordination” with the very Israeli occupation that steals Palestinian land, resources and lives on a daily basis.

On 13 March 2006 –following the Palestinian Legislative Council elections in which Sa’adat himself was elected to the PLC and supporters of “security coordination” sustained significant losses, while the winning Change and Reform bloc pledged to free PA political prisoners –Israeli occupation forces violently attacked Jericho prison. The U.S. and British guards cleared out in advance in a prearranged agreement with the occupation forces –but the occupation forces killed two Palestinian guards. 

Ahmad Sa’adat is a Palestinian, Arab and international symbol of resistance to capitalism, racism, apartheid and colonization. Targeted for his political role and clarity of vision, he remains a leader of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement and the national liberation struggle behind bars, unable to be silenced despite the oppression imposed upon him and his 5,000 fellow Palestinian political prisoners.

Life in Prison

On October 1, 2023, Israeli occupation forces stormed section 5 of Ramon prison closing multiple sections of the prison and transferring all of the 90 prisoners including Ahmad held there to section 10 of Nafha prison. The prisoners were not allowed to bring any of their personal belongings with them, and they were told they would not be returned to Ramon prison.