Ramy Shaath, a Palestinian activist living in France, said French authorities are seeking to deport him, arguing that the government is treating him as a public-security threat while targeting him for his pro-Palestinian activism. In a video statement posted online on May 14, Shaath said he believes the deportation effort is part of what he described as a broader campaign to silence Palestinians and supporters of the Palestinian cause in France.
Shaath, 54, said the deportation move followed earlier difficulties renewing his French residency documents, despite what he said were strong family ties in the country. He also alleged that his bank account was closed without warning and that his health insurance card was suspended, saying those measures made it harder for him to work, travel and receive medical care.
He said that French authorities’ case against him came after earlier legal proceedings failed. Shaath said he and his family intend to challenge the deportation proceedings before French and European courts.
Shaath’s activism includes work connected to the Israel-Hamas war and to pro-Palestinian campaigning in France. He said he helped found the pro-Palestinian organization Urgence Palestine after the war began. In the video statement, he accused French authorities of targeting him because of that activism, and of pressing ahead with deportation efforts despite legal setbacks.
The activist has a history of organizing around Palestinian-led boycott campaigns. In past reporting, he described his activism as “civil, nonviolent action against injustice, against inhumane treatment and against occupation as well as dictatorship,” and he has been associated with founding the Egyptian chapter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement in 2014.
Shaath previously coordinated the Egyptian chapter of BDS and, according to past interviews, linked his Palestinian activism to opposition to authoritarian rule in the Arab world. He was arrested in Egypt in 2019 and released in January 2022 after more than 2 1/2 years in detention, and he said at the time that Egyptian authorities never formally charged him.
In earlier reporting about his detention, Shaath said he spent time in a crowded cell and later in isolation in a windowless room. In 2022, French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed Shaath’s release from Egyptian detention, and Shaath said he is married to a French citizen and has a French-Palestinian daughter.
No immediate response was available from France’s Interior Ministry when requests for comment were made.