Artist Marwan Abado, an Austrian National of Palestinian origin, was detained immediately upon his arrival into Tel Aviv airport on Sunday 20th of July, and then was deported. Abado was scheduled to participate in the Songs of Freedom Festival both in Bethlehem and Jerusalem. His detention and deportation came in spite of the fact that Abado was invited by both the Austrian Embassy and the TOKTEN program of the UNDP and had obtained a visa through the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

Several diplomatic bodies tried to intervene in the matter to have Abado released, including a representative from the Austrian Embassy who remained with Marwan in his long detention hours at the airport; however, the Israeli Security continued to deny Abado entry, canceled his visa and put him on the first plane to Vienna after 24 hours of detention.

As one of the organizers of Songs of Freedom Festival, an international cultural event, the International Center of Bethlehem finds it extremely difficult to comprehend the reasons behind denying entry to this internationally recognized musician, particularly as the Israeli government itself had granted Abado a visa prior to his arrival. We see such an unjustified action creating another unnecessary obstacle on the road to peace.

For more information please contact the Bethlehem Media Center at the International Center of Bethlehem,

Tel: 02-2764577 Fax: 02-2770048 Email: csansour@annadwa.org Website: www.annadwa.org