Global “Red Ribbons” campaign demands freedom for Palestinian detainees

• New global campaign “Red Ribbons” calls for release of Palestinian detainees held without charge.
• The initiative combines a digital push with street demonstrations later in January.

A new international campaign, titled “Red Ribbons”, has been launched to call for the release of Palestinian detainees held in ‘Israeli’ prisons without charge and to spotlight the trial of thousands of detainees since the escalation of ‘Israeli’ war on Gaza. 

The campaign will begin with a digital initiative in mid-January, leading up to broader global street demonstrations expected at the end of the month.

Campaign objectives

Adnan Hamidan, coordinator of “Red Ribbons”, told Quds News Network: “The meaning of justice changes before our eyes. Thousands of Palestinian prisoners remain in ‘Israeli’ jails without charge, without trial, and with no clear timeline for release.”

He added that detainees include children, women, doctors, journalists, and civil society activists, taken from their homes and daily lives “not because they committed a crime, but because their existence is considered a burden on the 'Israeli' system.”

Hamidan explained that the campaign aims to clarify that these are not lawful arrests, but rather forcible detentions and hostage-taking, using human beings as tools of pressure on an entire society. “Softening the language lessens the crime”, he said. “Normalization of injustice begins with words, that’s why we launched "Red Ribbons"”.

Symbolism of the red ribbon

The red ribbon serves as a visual symbol of blood, suffering, and unlawful detention, placed alongside photos of Palestinian detainees. Hamidan emphasized: “These are not numbers or pending files or marginal details in a long conflict. They are human beings, and what is happening to them is neither normal nor acceptable.”

Digital and global mobilization

The campaign will launch an intensive digital engagement starting January 15, as a prelude to the global street demonstrations scheduled for January 31. Hamidan said the goal is to break the silence and build ethical and political momentum, placing the Palestinian detainees issue squarely as a matter of justice and human rights, not propaganda or political maneuvering.

The initiative is borderless and decentralized, inviting participation from around the world. “It is a call to reject the idea that taking humans as hostages is a normal part of contemporary politics,” Hamidan said, urging global solidarity with the detainees.