On May 15, 26-year-old Layan Nasir,  was released from Damon Prison in Israel. Layan, who worships at St Peter’s Anglican Church in the occupied West Bank, returned to her home in Birzeit after serving detention for eight months. Her release has been a prayer and advocacy focus for her family and wider Christian community. On the news of her release, many Anglicans leaders have shared messages of goodwill. 

Layan was first arrested by Israeli armed forces in 2021 in connection with alleged activity with a student organisation during her time at Birzeit University. She was arrested again at gunpoint at her family home in April 2024 and held in administrative detention until her release in December 2024.

Administrative detention is a measure usually used during times of emergency, allowing a person to be held without charge or trial on the basis of a perceived security concern. Layan was arrested again in August 2025 and held for a further eight months, with Israeli authorities alleging that she posed a threat to national security. 

In recent years, several people from across the Anglican Communion have advocated for Layan’s release, including those in the Episcopal Church of Jerusalem and the Middle East and the Church of England.  

Upon Layan’s release, her family and the Revd Richard Sewell (Dean of St George’s College, Jerusalem) met with her. Dean Richard told the Church Times that many had gathered at Layan’s home, giving her a ‘rapturous welcome home. There were blaring car horns along with singing and chanting, creating a joyful atmosphere’. 

He also shared Layan’s troubling account of the prison as a ‘cemetery for the living’. Layan reportedly expressed concern for those still in prison, describing difficult conditions including overcrowding, withholding of food and essential services and medical neglect.

Dean Richard has relayed to the Anglican Communion Office that he invites prayer for Layan in continuing to live her life without further disruption and for the family to have the chance to heal and rebuild. He also encourages prayer for other families grieving loved ones who are imprisoned and for relief from violence across the region.   

Layan’s mother, Lulu Nasir, reportedly told Dean Sewell that she felt both relief at her daughter’s return and pride in her strength.

‘Most of all,’ she said, ‘there is a great feeling of love: a powerful parental love. It is the feeling of seeing someone precious return safely and realising how much of your heart lives inside another. Today, my heart feels lighter, grateful and full again as my daughter Layan returns home.’

Speaking about the release, the Most Revd Hosam Naoum (Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem and Primate of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East), posted on social media that it was ‘joyful news’.

The Rt Revd Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani (Bishop of Chelmsford in the Church of England), who had prayed for Layan each day of her detention with a candle burning in her chapel, also welcomed the news.

On social media, Bishop Guli said: ‘Today I rejoice with Layan Nasir, who has been released from incarceration in an Israeli prison. I have prayed for her daily and had a candle burning in my chapel, which can now be extinguished. I wish her every blessing in the future.’

The Most Revd and Rt Hon Stephen Cottrell (Archbishop of York), who met Layan’s family during a visit to the occupied Palestinian territories in November 2025, described the news as ‘wonderful’, adding: ‘Today, our prayers are ones of thanksgiving for her release and safety.’

In the midst of a complex political, religious and geographic landscape, the Churches in the Middle East have been and continue to be places of hope and light in the darkness, serving the communities steadfastly as best they are able in troubled times.  

More information 

See an article from the Church Times interviewing Dean Richard Sewell of St George’s College, Jerusalem.  

See an article from the Episcopal News Service about Layan’s return home from prison.  

See a short article about Layan's release from the Jerusalem and Middle East Church Association.  

See a news article about Bishops from the Church of England visiting Layan Nasir’s family in January 2026 and sharing a letter urging the UK government to take action regarding the occupation of the West Bank. 

See a news article about the Archbishop of York’s visit to Layan Nasir’s family in November 2025.