The MENA Prison Forum (MPF), the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), medico international, and HAU Hebbel am Ufer are pleased to invite you to the seventh event of the series “Understanding Prison: MENA Prison Forum in Berlin."

The event will take place at 19:00 on 30 April 2026 at HAU Hebbel am Ufer (HAU1) in Berlin.

For tickets, please click here.

Once a vibrant Palestinian refugee camp and an integral part of Damascus, Yarmouk became a site of extreme state violence in the aftermath of the 2011 revolution. Following mass protests in 2012, the Assad regime and its allied militias imposed a brutal siege. Civilians were cut off from food, medicine and aid. “Besiege, starve, force to surrender” became the strategy of the regime.

The experiences from Yarmouk reveal alarming parallels to Gaza. Humanitarian aid structures are being deliberately destroyed, supply routes are cut off, and civilians are being endangered by the deprivation of essential resources.

The seventh edition of the discourse series “Understanding Prison: MENA Prison Forum in Berlin” weaves together music, testimony and dialogue. Pianist Aeham Ahmad, who survived the starvation siege of Yarmouk, will perform together with activist Wassim Mukdad on Oud. This will be followed by a panel discussion. In light of the ongoing court proceedings in Koblenz, the question arises: Following war crimes involving the deliberate use of hunger as a weapon, are there opportunities for justice and accountability, from Yarmouk to Gaza? 

19:00 Performance/Concert

With Aeham Ahmad (Piano), Wassim Mukdad (Oud), and Lujain Mustafa (Readings from Aeham Ahmad's book “The Pianist from Syria”)

20:00 Panel Discussion

With Wassim Mukdad (Co-plaintiff Al-Khatib trial, paramedic in Yarmouk during the siege, Syrian opposition activist), Ruham Hawash (Palestinian from Yarmouk, ECCHR, activist, former co-plaintiff in the Al-Khatib trial), and Dalia Qumsieh (Human rights lawyer)

Moderation by Riad Othman (medico international)

English and Arabic, with English and Arabic simultaneous translation

The MENA Prison Forum, an initiative of UMAM Documentation and Research (UMAM D&R), is dedicated to researching prison culture in the MENA region. It is an interdisciplinary international network that includes former prisoners, filmmakers, academics, artists, activists, and human rights organizations from various countries around the region. Together with medico international and HAU, the MPF is organizing a series of events in Berlin to promote critical and continual engagement on carceral conditions and dynamics in the MENA region.