The Israeli Salem military court sentenced Palestinian political prisoner Mona Qa’adan, 43, to 70 months (nearly six years) imprisonment and a fine of 30,000 NIS (approximately 7,500 USD), convicted of membership in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement and running a women’s organization allegedly associated with the movement.
Qa’adan has been detained since November 13, 2012, and her trial postponed repeatedly, over twenty times. She has been denied family visits continually since her arrest, for two and one-half years. Both her brother and her fiance are also held in Israeli prisons; her brother Tareq Qa’adan’s administrative detention without charge or trial was extended on April 1 for an additional four months.
Qa’adan’s family reported that the Israeli Attorney General had previously stated her sentence would not exceed 36 months, but the military court sentence – and exorbitant fine – nearly doubled that sentence.
