Samidoun, a terror-linked and terror-supporting NGO, is active and expanding its presence in Sweden, raising the spectre of incitement, public unrest, and violence.

Designated as a terrorist entity by Israel in 2021, by Germany in 2023, and jointly by the US and Canada in 2024, Samidoun is closely linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) – an EU-designated terrorist organization. Samidoun also promotes other EU-designated groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah and openly advocates for Palestinians’ “natural right to armed resistance,” underscoring the NGO’s ideological commitment to violence.

Terror Designations

  • In February 2021, Israel designated the NGO, identifying it as “play[ing] a leading and significant role in the PFLP’s anti-Israel propaganda efforts, fundraising, and recruiting activists,” and serving as a “front for the PFLP abroad.” 
  • In 2020, Germany expelled Samidoun head Khaled Barakat, and imposed a four-year entry ban; his appeal was rejected, citing PFLP links and “support for a terrorist organization.” As a result of the ban, Barakat was denied entry into the EU in 2022.
  •  In November 2023, Germany banned Samidoun for violating its Basic Law (Article 9(2)) and its Associations Act; namely, it “impairs and endangers the peaceful coexistence of Germans and foreigners,” “advocates and calls for the use of violence as a means of enforcing political interests,” and “supports associations that initiate, advocate and threaten attacks against people or property.”
  • In October 2024, the US and Canada issued joint statements listing Samidoun as a terrorist entity. The US described it as a “sham charity that serves as an international fundraiser for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist organization” and designated Samidoun head Khaled Barakat, “a member of the PFLP’s leadership” who played a “critical role[] in external fundraising for the PFLP.” 
  • The Dutch Parliament passed a resolution in the same month calling on the government to designate Samidoun as a terror organization.

Samidoun’s Operational Presence in Sweden 

Samidoun maintains chapters in Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö, which organize and participate in demonstrations and protests across Sweden, including events in Stockholm (Sergels Torg), Gothenburg (Brunnsparken, Centralstation, Gazaplatsen, Gustaf Adolfs Torg), Eskilstuna (Smortorget, Cityhustorget), Ostersund (Badhusparkens scen), and Vasteras (Stora Torget, Sigmatorget).

Support for Terrorist Organizations and Violence

  • On November 23, 2025, Samidoun Gothenburg co-organized a demonstration in “support of the resistance,” using promotional materials that featured members of terrorist organizations, including Hamas and the PFLP. The demonstration was followed by a joint event commemorating Izz ad-Din al-Qassam, the Muslim Brotherhood figure who is the namesake of Hamas’s military wing.  The gathering honored “the legacy of his resistance.” 

Promotional image for the November 23, 2025, Samidoun Gothenburg demonstration

  • On October 12, 2025, following the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, a Samidoun Gothenburg member gave a speech at a demonstration, stating, “The united armed resistance, led by the al-Qassam Brigades [Hamas’ military wing] and backed by a determined people, has stood strong through all this and forced the occupation to an agreement. The ceasefire is a statement of strength for the Palestinian resistance, and it is worth rejoicing over!”
  • On July 6, 2025, as Iran launched daily ballistic missile attacks on Israeli cities, a Samidoun Gothenburg member gave a speech at a demonstration stating, “I feel hope as the rockets fall over Tel Aviv.” He concluded his speech by calling out, “Death to Israel! Death to the USA! Glory to the martyrs! Long live the resistance! Long live Palestine!”
  • On November 29, 2024, a Samidoun Gothenburg member participated in a “cultural evening for Palestine” arranged by the cultural association Solens Port, claiming “PFLP, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, the organizations that are building the armed resistance are not terrorists, they are our comrades, they are our heroes.”

Supporting and Promoting PFLP Figures

  • On February 7, 2026, Mohammed Khatib, coordinator of Samidoun in Europe and a member of the PFLP, was arrested in Greece. According to a Samidoun Gothenburg member, Khatib had previously been invited to speak at the 2024 Gothenburg radical book fair, where he addressed “the Palestinian liberation struggle and lectured the Swedish left for not being stronger in our support for the resistance.” Following his arrest, Samidoun Gothenburg condemned the arrest and called for Khatib’s immediate release. 
  • On February 15, 2025, Samidoun Sweden participated in an “anti-imperialist youth conference” in Gothenburg, where a list of PFLP members and other members of terrorist organizations was used for what they described as “letter-writing to Palestinian prisoners.”

Samidoun Gothenburg at an “anti-imperialist youth conference.”

  • On October 10, 2023, Samidoun Sweden held an event, “Book Circle: Strategy for the Liberation of Palestine.” The event invitation states, “Join us as we read a foundational text, Strategy for the Liberation of Palestine, compiled by the People’s Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) at its founding!.”
  • On July 8, 2023, Samidoun held an event in Göteborg in honor of senior PFLP terrorist Ghassan Kanafani.
  • On January 31, 2022, Samidoun Sweden issued a statement, “Freedom for Ahmad Sa’adat! Conference and Square meeting in Stockholm.” According to Samidoun Sweden, “To mark the anniversary of the Palestinian Authority’s imprisonment of [PFLP leader] Ahmad Sa’adat, the Samidoun network has organized a week of action for the freedom of Ahmad Sa’adat and all Palestinian prisoners.…We demand the unconditional return of all Palestinian refugees and national liberation from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean sea.”

Samidoun Sweden members holding Samidoun and PFLP flags during “free [PFLP Secretary-General] Ahmad Sa’adat” activities.

  • On December 12, 2021, Samidoun Sweden shared a picture of activists holding a PFLP sign that reads “Long live the resistance and the Palestinian prisoners,” condemning Israel’s arrests of a leader of the national revolutionary left Nasser Abu-Khudhair and the national commander Abdul Latif Ghaith.  Naser Abu Khdair appeared on the PFLP list for the scheduled May 2021 Palestinian Legislative Elections, which were postponed indefinitely. In an August 2018 article published by the PFLP, Abu Khudair is referred to as “an official at the PFLP.” As reported on the Arab48 website, the Shin Bet arrested Abu Khadair in 2011 for heading a terrorist group that planned to commit attacks and kidnap a soldier. Arab48 adds that he served as liaison with PFLP leadership in Damascus and met with PFLP officials in Jordan in order to receive training and funds.
    • According to the Israeli Interior Ministry (2017), then Interior Minister Aryeh Deri “was convinced that Abdul-Latif, an activist in the Popular Front [for the Liberation of Palestine] organization and a person who has connections to the organization’s activists abroad, will utilize his travel abroad for the organizational purposes of the Popular Front [for the Liberation of Palestine].” An August 27, 2017 PalInfo article notes that Deri stated that “Ghaith is still an active member of the banned Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and in contact with its leaders abroad…” A 2009 article by Ma’an News Agency refers to Gaith as a member of the PFLP’s “political bureau.”

Activists with a sign that read “Long live the resistance and the Palestinian prisoners” and features the PFLP’s logo, posted by Samidoun Sweden.

  • On September 18, 2021, Samidoun Stockholm’s members disseminated pro-PFLP materials in Skärholmen.

Samidoun Stockholm members disseminating pro-PFLP materials and showcasing a PFLP flag.

  • According to Samidoun, in July 2021, “Samidoun activists and members based in Sweden, France, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands” (emphasis added) visited Lebanon, as part of a delegation called “Ghassan Kanafani Brigade.” The delegation visited the PFLP offices in Lebanon, met with PFLP members, and paid respect to PFLP terrorists, such as Ghassan Kanafani, Maher Al-Yamani and Abu Saleh Al-Assadi. Jaldía Abu Bakra participated in this delegation.

Support for the October 7 Massacre

  • On October 7, 2025, Samidoun Gothenburg issued a statement saying, “The seventh of October is now and will remain a great revolutionary event, a moment celebrated by the oppressed peoples and nations of the world as a historic moment in the anti-colonial and anti-imperialist struggle, and which will live on after liberation as a milestone on the road to victory.”

“October 7 the Al-Aqsa flood today’s Palestinian revolution confronts two years of genocide”

  • In an October 27, 2023, newspaper exchange, Samidoun Sweden explained its support for the October 7th massacre, explaining, “We stand for the right of the Palestinian people to fight for their liberation from a colonial occupation that has lasted since 1948…The struggle against occupation includes armed struggle. …Over the past year, we have seen overwhelming support in Sweden for Ukraine’s right to defend itself against Russia’s occupation of the country. When it is Palestinians who take up arms to defend themselves, it sounds very different. Why is it like that?”