Brazil prevented a Palestinian activist from entering its territory and deported him and his family, based on the recommendation of the United States, which claimed that he is a member of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and plans to remain in Brazil to be a spokesman for the movement.
Palestinian activist Muslim Abu Omar told Tel Aviv Tribune that the Brazilian authorities arrested him upon his arrival at Sao Paulo airport last Sunday and informed him that he was prevented from entering the country without explaining the reasons.
According to the Brazilian and international press, the judge who heard his case hesitated to deport him at the request of the police, but then agreed to do so.
Reuters said that the judge based her decision to approve the deportation on what Abu Omar posted on social media about his meeting in Doha with the head of the Hamas Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh.
Abu Omar – who has lived in Malaysia for 20 years – confirmed that the Brazilian police were waiting for him at the plane gate upon his arrival at San Paulo Airport, and informed him after a short interrogation that he was prevented from entering the country, but his deportation was postponed after he contacted a local lawyer who requested that the deportation be halted until the reasons were considered.
He added that the file submitted by the police to the court was based on Israeli media reports, and that the court did not give the defense lawyer sufficient opportunity to respond to what was stated in the police report, and decided to deport him after about 48 hours he and his family spent in a detention center inside the airport.
Abu Omar denied to the Brazilian police his membership in the Hamas movement, and stressed that his work is purely academic and research, especially since he heads an institute for studies of Asian and Middle Eastern affairs.
In his interview with Tel Aviv Tribune, he did not rule out that his arrest and deportation were for political reasons linked to American-Israeli influence in Brazil, and he said that the lawyer told him that Brazilian law does not prohibit any of the Palestinian factions and does not criminalize belonging to them.
Abu Omar was heading to Brazil to visit his brother, and he had previously visited it in early January last year.