Khader Adnan on 58th day of hunger strike: Take action to save his life and win his freedom!

UPDATE: At his hearing on 29 October 2018 at Salem Military Court, Khader Adnan was sentenced to one year in prison – meaning that he will be released in approximately one month. This comes as a significant achievement for Adnan’s steadfastness and a complete failure on the part of the Israeli occupation to break his will.

Palestinian prisoner Khader Adnan is facing a severe health crisis on his 58th day of hunger strike: vomiting blood, barely able to speak, exhausted and very thin. The imprisoned activist, former long-term hunger striker and baker from Arraba near Jenin has been on hunger strike since 2 September. He is demanding his release from arbitrary Israeli imprisonment on trumped-up charges. We urge all supporters of Palestine to take action to support Khader Adnan’s freedom and save his life.

Adnan, 40, has conducted two previous hunger strikes, lasting 66 and 54 days, to win his freedom from imprisonment without charge or trial under Israeli “administrative detention.” During that time, he has become a prominent Palestinian leader and an international symbol of Palestinian resistance to Israeli imprisonment and repression. Administrative detention orders can be issues for up to six months at a time; they are indefinitely renewable. There are currently around 450 out of nearly 6,000 Palestinian prisoners who are held under administrative detention orders, some for years at a time.

On 11 December 2017, Adnan was seized once again by Israeli occupation forces. After lengthy interrogations in which they failed to obtain a confession, they threw him in prison, charging him on dubious allegations on the basis of forced confessions obtained from others. These allegations include membership in a prohibited organization – in this case, Palestinian Islamic Jihad; all major Palestinian political parties and movements are considered illegal by the Israeli occupation – as well as incitement, for making public political speeches and writings.

His trial has been postponed 17 times; on 22 October, even after 51 days of hunger strike. While he was confined to a wheelchair, with difficulty talking or moving, his hearing was postponed an additional week to 29 October. Adnan has affirmed that he considers these charges to be a form of “hidden administrative detention” and a way to silence the campaign around his case. He announced that he would refuse water on 28 October, the day before the court hearing.

Israeli military courts are no more just than administrative detention; they convict over 99 percent of the Palestinians brought before them. Lengthy trial delays are used as a means of coercing imprisoned Palestinians to agree to plea bargains.

Adnan’s wife, Randa, said that when she saw her husband at Salem military court for the hearing on 22 October, he had not been allowed to change his clothes, shower or even trim his beard as a means of pressuring him to end his strike. However, he emphasized that he is dedicated to continue his strike until freedom.

Take Action!

Khader Adnan has been on hunger strike for 58 days. He has an elevated heartbeat, has vomited blood, can barely talk and must move using a wheelchair. His life is at risk. International action is urgent to support his strike and bring attention to his case. Join us in taking action below:

1. Call-in to your government officials. Join the Facebook page and organize your own in your country. Demand that your government take action to save Khader Adnan’s life and stop arbitrary Israeli imprisonment. Our international call in day is 31 October, the 60th day of Khader Adnan’s strike.

Call during your country’s regular office hours:

  • Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs Marise Payne: + 61 2 6277 7500
  • Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland: +1-613-992-5234
  • European Union Commissioner Federica Mogherini: +32 (0) 2 29 53516
  • New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters: +64 4 439 8000
  • United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt: +44 20 7008 1500
  • United States President Donald Trump: 1-202-456-1111

Leave a message for these officials. Tell them:

  • Palestinian prisoner Khader Adnan has been on hunger strike for 60 days. His life is at risk.
  • He is facing trumped-up charges in an attempt to silence his political activity.
  • He has been repeatedly imprisoned without charge or trial under “administrative detention.”
  • Imprisonment with no charge or trial and military courts for civilians under occupation are not justice! It’s time for your government to put pressure on Israel to free Khader Adnan and end administrative detention. Real pressure includes aid cuts and military embargos.
  • Your government must intercede to demand his immediate release and end all support for Israel’s political imprisonment and other crimes against Palestinians.

2. Sign this online petition to free Khader Adnan. Share online and sign to spread the word and reiterate that Khader Adnan – and all Palestinian prisoners – must be free. Sign now and share: https://www.change.org/p/international-leaders-freedom-for-khader-adnan

3. Take action in person and on social media. Read the following quote from Khader Adnan on video and post it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter; organize a group photo; or introduce your next event about Palestine or social justice with information about Khader Adnan’s strike. Send your videos and photos to us on Facebook or email us at samidoun@samidoun.net.

Read the following message or make up your own sign/statement:

Khader Adnan has been on hunger strike for over 58 days against arbitrary, unjust imprisonment. We stand with Khader Adnan and all Palestinian prisoners, and we are inspired by his words:

“The prisoners’ movement and hunger strikes in particular are a symbol of the principle and demand for justice in Palestine. It proves that of course it is both possible and necessary to break the Israeli occupation.

The prisoners, with strong will, are able to hold onto their rights. It is a symbol to show you what is possible. This is something that the Palestinian leadership must learn from. How it is that a Palestinian prisoner can be on hunger strike, facing an occupation and a jailer with all the technology and forces at their disposal, and yet can still defeat them? Our unarmed resistance can defeat the bullet.”

Victory for Khader Adnan!

4. Boycott, Divest and Sanction. Hold Israel accountable for its violations of international law through economic, cultural, academic and other forms of boycott. Don’t buy Israeli goods, and campaign to end investments in corporations that profit from the occupation. Learn more at bdsmovement.net.

Khader Adnan’s hunger strike:

Khader Adnan has been arrested 11 times by Israeli occupation forces, serving 8 years in prison. In 2012, he won his freedom from administrative detention with a 66-day hunger strike; again, he went without food for 54 days in 2015 to win his release from imprisonment without charge or trial. While hunger strikes have long been a major collective and individual method of struggle for Palestinian prisoners, Adnan’s strikes drew widespread international attention and support and galvanized campaigns to win the release of imprisoned Palestinians. http://maannews.net/Content.aspx?id=965586

Adnan launched this strike on 2 September in Ramon prison, where he was immediately thrown into solitary confinement. All of his belongings were confiscated from his cell including his radio and newspapers; he was benned from family visits, because his hunger strike poses “a threat to the security of Israel.” He was then moved to solitary confinement in Jalameh prison on 16 September, where he was denied legal visits throughout his time there. Around 8 October, he was moved first to Ashkelon prison, then to Barzilai hospital, back to Ashkelon and then to the Ramle prison clinic, where he remains today.

While held in Jalameh prison, he was confined in a small 190cm x 190cm cell, including bunk beds and a toilet; his head and feet would hit the walls when laying down and he had no space to pray. He told his lawyers that the cell was dirty, infested with roaches and insects, and the toilet water ran constantly, depriving him of sleep. He refused to stand for roll call or for the prison diretor and was ordered to two months without family visits or access to the “canteen” (prison store.) Lawyers arrived to meet him on four separate occasions; each time, they were turned away on the pretext of his health condition without informing Adnan.