Human-rights activist speaks at program on the Mideast on Saturday

LIBERTY — A human-rights activist and former Palestinian political prisoner will be the guest speaker Saturday at the Arab American Community Center of Greater Youngstown, 15 Belgrade Ave., west off Belmont between Gypsy Lane and Colonial Drive.

The program begins at 7 p.m. It’s part of a national tour, “Israel’s Palestinian Prisoners, America’s Other Guantanamo: A Report on the Conditions of Palestinian Political Prisoners.” The tour is presented by the U.S. Palestinian Community Network and the Palestine Solidarity Group, Chicago.The event is sponsored by the Arab American Community Center and the U.S. Palestinian Community Network.

The speaker, activist Ala Jaradat, is program manager of Addameer Prisoners’ Support and Human Rights Association in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah and a former Palestinian political prisoner. He will share his experiences campaigning for the freedom and rights of political detainees and actively working against the use of torture, arbitrary detention, isolation and other forms of political persecution and repression.