Friday, 28 April
3:30 pm
St. Martins-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square
London
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/415527582163715/
Organized by www.inminds.com
On Friday 28th April 2017, Inminds human right group will hold a vigil in central London in solidarity with the largest hunger strike of Palestinian political prisoners in 5 years. Over 1500 Palestinian prisoners from all Palestinian factions united to go on hunger strike six days ago on 17th April 2017. Since then the strike has gained momentum with hundreds more joining everyday.
Inminds chair Abbas Ali said “The occupation has already expressed fear that the security conditions in prisons, and with it their entire prison complex, will collapse due to the hunger strike. To quash the hunger strike they have brutally attacked prisoners in their cells, destroying their belongings and separated the leaders of the hunger strike by forcefully transferring them to other prisons and into solidarity confinement. Prison visits have been banned. They are setting up military field hospitals, out of sight, in the Negev desert to force feed hunger strikers on mass, in contravention of international humanitarian law. It is vital at this critical time that we show our support and solidarity for this hunger strike for freedom and dignity.”
The hunger strikers are demanding basic human rights which Israel as a signatory to the Geneva Conventions should already be providing.
These include:
1) Proper health treatment for sick prisoners . Ramla prison hospital where they are currently taken is unfit for medical care. It has been described as “a slaughterhouse, not a hospital, with jailers wearing doctors’ uniforms.”
2) That prisoners not be charged for their medical care.
3) An end to the denial and cutbacks on family visits. A return to a second monthly visit that was suspended by the Red Cross, and extending the visit duration from 45 mins to 90 mins. Allowing children to visit their mothers in prisoner without barriers so they can hug and kiss them.
4) Humanitarian treatment of prisoners during transportation and transfer, returning the prisoners promptly to prison from clinic and courts. At present prisoner are held shackled in an iron box on the transportation vehicle, the journey of a few miles from the prison to the court can take a full day with no access to a toilet and sometimes no food. One woman prisoner, Dunia Waked, explained that “the journey can begin at 1 a.m. and end at 10 p.m. – 21 hours and during this harsh journey you are subject to ongoing harassment.” Israeli criminal prisoners are let loose on Palestinian political prisoners during the transport.
5) An end to administrative detention and solitary confinement. The United Nations has denounced Israel’s practice of administrative detention where by Palestinians are caged without charge or trial indefinitely on the whim of the Israeli military.
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JazakAllah,
Abbas Ali
Inminds Palestinian Prisoners Campaign
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