Workers protest pro-Palestinian French unionist’s sentencing outside İstanbul consulate

The Union of Revolutionary Road, Air, and Rail Workers (Nakliyat-İş), affiliated with the DİSK union confederation, held a demonstration yesterday outside the French Consulate in İstanbul to express solidarity with unionist Jean-Paul Delescaut, who was penalized for expressing solidarity with Palestine.

Delescaut, secretary-general of CGT Nord, a regional branch of France's largest labor union, the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), was sentenced to a one-year suspended prison term on April 18 for "glorifying terrorism" after calling for a ceasefire in Palestine.

During the protest, which was attended by Nakliyat-İş Chair Ali Rıza Küçükosmanoğlu, union executives and members, the crowd displayed a banner reading, "Fascist Macron, Murderous USA, Zionist Israel Will Be Held Accountable! The People of Palestine Are Not Alone!"

The demonstrators also showed placards that read, "Jean-Paul Delescaut, Secretary-General of CGT Nord, Is Not Alone."

Speaking at the event, Küçükosmanoğlu noted that Western nations supporting Israel were harshly cracking down on pro-Palestinian protests. "The recent aggressive police response to protesters in the US is one such example. The same applies to European Union nations.

"Jean-Paul Delescaut, Secretary-General of CGT Nord, a northern regional branch of CGT in France, was charged with 'glorifying terrorism' and sentenced to a suspended one-year prison term by a Lille court for distributing a leaflet calling for an immediate ceasefire in Palestine. This situation has once again revealed the inhumane face of the fascist Macron government."

Küçükosmanoğlu noted that they had delivered a protest letter from the World Federation of Trade Unions, condemning Delescaut's sentence and demanding an immediate dismissal of the charges, to consulate officials.

"We will continue to stand by the oppressed people of Palestine and support unionists who are targeted and prosecuted for showing solidarity with them. Unionism is not a crime. The sentence against CGT Nord's Secretary-General Jean-Paul Delescaut must be immediately revoked,” he remarked. (VC/VK)