Free Khalida Jarrar, free all Palestinian political prisoners!
We, in Commission 3 (Defense of Human Rights at the Collective and Individual Levels in the Civil. Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Fields) of the International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS), vehemently condemn the continuing persecution of Palestinian parliamentarian Khalida Jarrar, former executive director and current vice-chair of the board of directors of Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association.
On December 6, Jarrar was sentenced by an Israeli occupation military court in Ofer to 15 months imprisonment, more than eight months after she was arrested by occupation military forces who invaded her Ramallah home on April 2. Jarrar was placed in administrative detention without charge or trial, which was decried by the international community. The Israeli military courts mounted a “trial,” which resulted to her conviction for twelve counts of political charges – all of which pertain to her public statements and pronouncements for the release of Palestinian political prisoners.
According to the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, more than 800,000 Palestinians have been detained by Israeli occupation forces, including over 15,000 women, since 1967. Palestinians are subjected to raids by the Israeli occupation forces, through day or night raids in their houses, villages, refugee camps or towns, and to kidnappings at checkpoints or workplaces. Sometimes, those detained are released after a few days, after a few weeks or they remain in detention indefinitely. In the average, the Israeli occupation forces kidnap and detain 5-8 Palestinian women and girls monthly for various reasons and periods. Additionally, the Israeli occupation Prison Service (IPS) uses psychological and physical torture as a means to extract confessions and information from the Palestinian prisoners. For instance, interrogators deprive Palestinian female prisoners of sleep for long periods during interrogation, which may last from 20 to 120 days, and they are tied to plastic or wooden seats in interrogation cells.
Palestinian female prisoners are also subjected to various forms of psychological torture, including verbal harassment, insulting their religious and national beliefs, uttering obscenities in front of them during the investigation, threats of sexual assault and rape to force Palestinian women to surrender and illicit false confessions. They are also held under inhumane conditions in cells that are overcrowded, dirty, humid, cold in winter and hot in summer, and those that lack ventilation and the basic needs for living. They also suffer from various reprisals, ranging from medical negligence to denial of family visits and isolation.
According to Samidoun, there are currently around 7000 Palestinian political prisoners in 22 Israeli jails and detention centers, including 39 women and 430 children. They are kidnapped either from their homes, at checkpoints, or during day and night raids. Some of those detained were released later, while some are kept in captivity and others were deported from occupied Jerusalem for weeks or months.
The conviction of Jarrar is yet another proof of the continuing political repression and suppression of the Palestinian peoples. We strongly condemn the atrocious and unabashed US-backed Zionist occupation of Palestine for the longest time, causing immeasurable suffering among the Palestinians and forcing them to leave their land and live as refugees in other lands. We salute the fortitude of Palestine’s daughters and sons who continue to fight for their country, for their rights and for justice. We give our highest respect to their martyrs and political prisoners like Khalida Jarrar who are languishing in jails, enduring the torture and abuses, the ordeal and pains of this US-backed Israeli war and occupation of Palestine. We salute the courage and relentless and courageous efforts of Jarrar to serve her people, to fight for rights and justice, to fight for freedom and peace in her beloved country.
Free Khalida Jarrar and all Palestinian political prisoners!
Hold the US and Israel accountable for violation of Palestinian people’s rights!
Free Palestine!
ILPS Commission 3
Defense of Human Rights at the Collective and Individual Levels in the Civil. Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Fields
December 10, 2015
