Member of the European Parliament and activist Pro-Palestinian Rima Hassan visits the Federal Palace
MEP Rima Hassan is expected to visit the Federal Palace at the invitation of Council of States member Carlo Sommaruga. Her statements on the Middle East conflict have caused controversy.
01.06.2026, 15:32
01.06.2026, 15:56
SDA
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- Rima Hassan, French-Palestinian Member of the European Parliament, is expected in Bern during the summer session at the invitation of the Swiss-Palestinian Parliamentary Group.
- She will be traveling with Rémy Pagani and other participants in the Gaza flotilla.
- Several criminal charges have been brought against the activist in France. Sommaruge defends the invitation and emphasizes that Hassan has not yet been convicted.
The French-Palestinian MEP and pro-Palestinian activist Rima Hassan will be coming during the second week of the summer session starting on Monday, announced the Geneva-based SP member of the Council of States Carlo Sommaruga on Sunday without providing any further details.
He confirmed to Keystone-SDA a corresponding report by the "Sonntagsblick" newspaper. Hassan was invited by the parliamentary group Switzerland-Palestine, which he chairs.
The MEP will be accompanied by former Geneva mayor Rémy Pagani, who took part in the 2025 flotilla for Gaza. Other Swiss members who returned a week ago from the last flotilla ship expedition to the Gaza Strip will also be present, Sommaruga added.
Rima Hassan wasalso arrested at sea in 2025, transferred to Israel and subsequently deported.
Sommaruga defends invitation
The activist from the left-wing party La France Insoumise (LFI) is facing several criminal charges in France, with her critics accusing her of anti-Semitism. Sommaruga, however, defends the invitation, pointing to Rima Hassan's role as a Member of the European Parliament.
"Rima Hassan has not yet been convicted in France," he said. She, like many other people who are vocal supporters of the Palestinian cause, is subject to pressure from the network in support of Israel, he added. Sommaruga explained that he had informed the parliamentary security services as he would with any exposed personality.
