New victories for G4S boycott campaign as UN agencies in Lebanon and Jordan dump security firm

7 December 2016

In a new victory for the continuing campaign to boycott multinational security corporation for its role in profiteering from the oppression of Palestinians, the Campaign to Boycott Supporters of Israel in Lebanon announced that UNICEF in Lebanon will no longer be contracting with G4S for security work. This victory comes after an ongoing campaign by Lebanese and Palestinian organizations in Lebanon to demand UNICEF, other UN agencies, and Lebanese businesses stop doing business with G4S.

G4S announced on 2 December that it is selling its G4S Israel subsidiary, which contracts with the Israeli Prison Service for equipment, control rooms and security systems for Israeli prisons, as well as with other Israeli state entities in checkpoints, settlements and the Beit Hanoun/Erez crossing where the siege on Gaza is enforced, to Israeli private equity company FIMI. The sell-off was widely seen as a response to the growing international boycott campaign targeting G4S as a key player in the private-prison profiteering market and especially its role in the imprisonment of Palestinian political prisoners.

However, G4S remains a target of boycott campaigns because it is the co-owner of Policity, a joint venture with real-estate corporation Shikun & Binui, an Israeli corporation involved in settlements, to operate a police training center for Israeli police in Jerusalem, training police to enforce the occupation. G4S is also a target of international campaigns because of its involvement in youth incarceration, migrant detention and deportation, and private security for the Dakota Access Pipeline against the Standing Rock indigenous water protectors’ movement.

This victory in Lebanon comes alongside the announcement of the UN World Food Program in Jordan that it will no longer contract with G4S, an action hailed by BDS Jordan as a victory in its own ongoing campaign. Four out of six UN agencies operating in Jordan have ended their dealings with G4S after an escalated BDS campaign. Indeed, UNICEF in Jordan previously dropped G4S, as did UNHCR and UNOPS. The UNDP and UN Women continue to contract with G4S.

Israeli court extends interrogation of re-arrested Palestinian youth leader Daoud Ghoul

7 December 2016

Palestinian youth organizer Daoud Ghoul was ordered to four additional days of interrogation at an Israeli court hearing on Tuesday, 6 December. He had originally been ordered released after his arrest at 4:00 am on 5 December, only one week after his release from 18 months in Israeli prison. Upon an appeal by the prosecution claiming “new developments in interrogation,” Ghoul not only remained imprisoned but was subjected to four more days of interrogation. The director of the Health Work Committees’ youth program in Jerusalem, Ghoul has been subject to a series of escalating repressive Israeli attacks since he returned to Palestine from Brussels, Belgium in November 2014 after speaking before the European Parliament about Israeli attacks on Palestinian life in Jerusalem.

He was first ordered exiled from his home city of Jerusalem, then barred from the West Bank and international travel. The HWC office in Jerusalem was shut down by military order, and Ghoul was arrested, accused of affiliation with a banned political party, the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and sentenced to 18 months in Israeli prison. One week after his release on 27 November, occupation forces invaded his home on Monday, seizing him once more.

Ghoul is not the only recently freed Palestinian subject to re-arrest. Earlier in November, Bahaa al-Najjar was re-arrested a week after his release from imprisonment without charge or trial under Israeli administrative detention, only to once again be ordered to administrative detention on the basis of so-called “secret evidence.”

Also on Tuesday, 6 December, former prisoner Sheikh Rezeq Rajoub, 60, was again seized by Israeli occupation forces from al-Khalil, one week after his release from Israeli prison on 28 November. One of the oldest administrative detainees, he had been imprisoned without charge or trial for 29 months. The Israeli occupation forces stormed his home on Tuesday morning in a pre-dawn raid. His family told Asra Media that he plans to announce an open hunger strike in protest of his re-arrest, and that they had been still receiving congratulatory visitors upon his release.

Palestinian youth activist Basil al-Araj’s home again raided by Israeli forces as 16 arrested overnight in West Bank

7 December 2016

As 16 Palestinians were seized by Israeli occupation forces throughout the West Bank in a series of pre-dawn raids, Palestinian youth activist Basil al-Araj once again evaded an arrest raid on his home. One of six Palestinian youth who were released from Palestinian Authority prisons after nearly six months of detention when they launched a hunger strike, Al-Araj and other youth were seized in April in what was touted as a victory for security coordination between the PA and Israel. After their hunger strike and widespread attention to their case secured their release, four of the youth – Mohammed al-Salameen, Seif al-Idrissi, Haitham Siyaj, and Mohammed Harb – have been seized by Israeli occupation forces. All four have been ordered to administrative detention, imprisonment without charge or trial.

Al-Araj’s family home in the village of Walaja near Bethlehem has been repeatedly stormed by occupation forces, most recently this morning, Wednesday, 7 December, at 1:00 am. His mother stated that they also invaded the homes of his uncles, ransacking their belongings and damaging their property, and ordering Al-Araj’s father and brother to interrogation with the Israeli occupation intelligence.

Also early this morning, five Palestinians were seized in Bethlehem, reported the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society, including a child: Mohammed Sabah, 12 years old. The others arrested include Mohammed Ahmed Ali Sheikh, 21, Mohammed Maher Sheikh, 20, Mahmoud Ahmed Sheikh, 22, and Amir Khalil Afaneh, 19. In al-Khalil, occupation forces seized four Palestinians, including Said Sharawi, 43, and his son Ramadan Sharawi, 23; the former prisoner Rajeh Abu Ajamia, 45, and Basil El-Skafi. In Ramallah and El-Bireh, occupation forces seized Nidal al-Hindi and Ahmed Hussein Al-Khasib. In Qalqilya, occupation forces seized Mohammed Ali Radwan, 24, and Asem Omar Sweidan, 21. In Jerusalem, they arrested Odeh Ahmed Khatib, 20, and Amin Hamed, while in Salfit, occupation forces seized Ahmed Mohammed Bouzaya, 26.

Shadid and Abu Fara critically ill on 74th day of hunger strike; Balboul brothers to be released Thursday

7 December 2016

Palestinian hunger strikers Anas Shadid, 19, and Ahmad Abu Fara, 29, are on their 74th day of hunger strike. Both are in a severely critical health condition and have refused to end their strike, emphasizing their commitment to continue until they are freed from administrative detention, imprisonment without charge or trial. Both have refused to consume anything but water since 25 September, when they launched their hunger strike in protest of their imprisonment without charge or trial.

Currently, they are held in the Israeli Assaf Harofeh hospital. Their administrative detention is “suspended” due to their health condition, so they are not chained to their hospital beds; however, as soon as their health improves, they will remain imprisoned. They have rejected this order as an attempt to distract from their struggle for freedom.

Ahlam Haddad, Palestinian lawyer, said that both have lapsed into unconsciousness momentarily on several occasions in the past day. Abu Fara cannot see out of his right eye, while Shadid is suffering from severe chest pain, difficulty breathing, and blurred vision. She also said that the two are being abused by guards in the hospital.

Shadid and Abu Fara are joined on strike by Ammar Hmour, 27, of Jaba village near Jenin, who has been on hunger strike for 17 days against his own imprisonment without charge or trial under administrative detention. Held in isolation in a narrow, unventilated cell in Ashkelon prison, he is experiencing fatigue and an aching body, subject to pressure to end his strike. Detained since 16 February without charge or trial, he launched his strike in protest of the renewal of his detention.

There are over 700 Palestinians currently imprisoned in Israeli jails without charge or trial under administrative detention. Administrative detention orders, issued from one to six months at a time, can be indefinitely renewed on the basis of secret evidence. Some Palestinians have been jailed for years at a time under administrative detention.

Also on hunger strike is Kifah Hattab, 52, jailed since 2003. Imprisoned since 2003, he has been on hunger strike for 15 days demanding recognition as a prisoner of war; he was a captain and a pilot for the Palestinian Authority and is serving two life sentences.

As the four strikers continue their battle for freedom, two former hunger strikers, the brothers Mohammed and Mahmoud al-Balboul, are scheduled for release on Thursday 8 December. They refused food and nutrition for 79 and 76 days after their arrest in a violent raid on their home on 9 June, ending in an agreement that secured their release on 8 December. They are the sons of Ahmad al-Balboul, a Fateh leader assassinated by the Israeli occupation in 2008 and the brothers of Nuran al-Balboul, who was imprisoned for four months at the time of their arrest. They will be welcomed with a special celebration in Bethlehem’s Manger Square.

Circus trainer Mohammed Abu Sakha held for almost one year without charge or trial

7 December 2016

Palestinian circus trainer Mohammed Abu Sakha, 25, is approaching the one-year anniversary of his imprisonment in Israeli jails without charge or trial. Held under administrative detention since 14 December 2015 when he was seized by occupation forces as he traveled to work in Bir Zeit, he appealed his imprisonment to the Israeli Supreme Court after it was renewed arbitrarily in June 2016.

Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association lawyer Mahmoud Hassan represented Abu Sakha in a public hearing before the Supreme Court on 5 December, only to withdraw the petition after the court stated that the “secret file” – which has reportedly not been updated since December 2015 – indicates that Abu Sakha “poses a threat to the security of the state.”

Abu Sakha’s case has drawn widespread international attention and support; his work with the Palestinian Circus School is well-known around the world and he has participated in multiple tours along with the children with whom he works. He has been part of the Circus School since 2007. is six-month detention order was renewed in June for an additional six months, and will expire on 12 December. Abu Sakha’s case has drawn solidarity and support, not only from Palestinian communities and solidarity organizers, but also from Amnesty International as well as circus artists and performers in the UK, Belgium, Spain, Uruguay, Portugal, France, Germany, Chile, the United States and elsewhere.

He is held under administrative detention among over 700 fellow Palestinian prisoners. Among others, three members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Hassan Yousef, 60, Mohammed Natsheh, 59, and Azzam Salhab, 62, are also held in administrative detention; three more PLC members, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General Secretary Ahmad Sa’adat, Fateh leader Marwan Barghouthi, and detained deputy Mohammed Abu Teir from Jerusalem, are imprisoned as well. Salhab was recently ordered to six months in administrative detention without charge or trial after his home in Al-Khalil was violently stormed by occupation forces on 28 November.

Administrative detention orders are issued for periods of one to six months on the basis of so-called secret evidence, to which Palestinian detainees and their lawyers are denied access. They are indefinitely renewable, and some Palestinians spend years at a time held without charge or trial in administrative detention. Abu Sakha’s detention is currently scheduled to end on 12 December, but he is threatened with the renewal of his imprisonment without charge.

Rasmea Odeh Gets a New Trial; Tell McQuade to Drop the Charges Now!

6 December 2016

Statement from the Rasmea Defense Committee:

After cancelling a November 29 Daubert hearing last week, Eastern District of Michigan Federal Judge Gershwin Drain reviewed written arguments, and ruled today that Palestinian American community organizer Rasmea Odeh will be granted a new trial.

“This is incredible news,” said Nesreen Hasan, a leader of the Rasmea Defense Committee and its lead organization, the U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN). “The government has gone to great lengths to cover up the details of Israel’s torture and crimes against this mentor of mine and of so many others, this Palestinian icon. Now, the truth will finally be told, in open court. Rasmea will be vindicated.”

Last year, Rasmea was sentenced to 18 months in prison and deportation after being convicted in 2014 of Unlawful Procurement of Naturalization, a politically-motivated immigration charge, for failing to disclose on applications for U.S. citizenship that she had been arrested decades earlier in Palestine by Israeli authorities. In February 2016, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals sent the case back to Judge Drain, saying he had wrongfully barred the testimony of a torture expert that was critical to the defense. At the original trial, Rasmea was not allowed to tell the entire story of Israel forcing her to falsely confess to alleged bombings in 1969, when she endured over three weeks of vicious sexual, physical, and psychological torture at the hands of the Israeli military.

Rasmea suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) because of this torture, which, according to her clinical psychologist, Dr. Mary Fabri (who has worked with torture survivors for 25 years, and at the world-renowned Kovler Center for the Treatment of Survivors of Torture for 12), caused her to suppress the horrible recollection of the arrest when she answered questions on her immigration application. Judge Drain excluded Fabri’s testimony from the first trial, and disallowed any evidence about the rape and torture. Today’s decision clears the way for a new trial, where this testimony can finally be heard by a jury. The judge had previously mentioned January 10, 2017, as a potential new trial date, but today’s ruling does not include a specific start.

In filings before the ruling, the government argued that Judge Drain should again exclude Fabri’s testimony, asserting that Rasmea did not have PTSD, that she was feigning her symptoms, and therefore, that her memory could not have been impacted during the immigration process. Despite recently subjecting her to 17 hours of clinical mental examination to prove these theories, the government’s own expert affirmed the diagnosis of PTSD, and reported that Rasmea was not faking any symptoms.

At the new trial next year, defense attorneys are hopeful a jury that finally gets the opportunity to hear testimony about torture and PTSD, will find Rasmea not guilty. In the meantime, the defense committee is calling on U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade to stop wasting taxpayer money and end this travesty of justice right now–by dropping the charges now and letting Rasmea go free!

“This has been a politically-motivated case from day one,” said Frank Chapman, Field Organizer for the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. “The whole case against Rasmea is nothing but a pretext to intimidate those who organize and struggle to realize a liberated Palestine. She has remained determined in the face of this repression, and we will continue to stand beside her. Hundreds have come out from across the country to stand with Rasmea at every hearing, and every day of her trial and appeal. These same hundreds, and thousands more, are now demanding of McQuade, ‘Drop the Charges Now!’”

Today, we celebrate another great victory in the campaign, but we won’t stop here.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, December 7, 2016–FOR A FULL DAY, from 9 AM to 5 PM EST–please call U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade at 313-226-9100, and demand that she stop wasting taxpayer money, that she stop persecuting a woman who has given so much to U.S. society, and that she Drop the Charges Against Rasmea Now!

In the meantime, the Rasmea Defense Committee, led by USPCN and the Committee to Stop FBI Repression, urges supporters to continue to struggle for #Justice4Rasmea by donating to the defense and organizing educational events about Rasmea and the campaign in your communities. Visitwww.justice4rasmea.org or email justice4rasmea@uspcn.org to get more involved.

Abu Fara loses consciousness; hunger strikers pledge to continue battle on 72nd day without food

5 December 2016

Palestinian hunger strikers are continuing their protest even as they reach a critical health situation and one slipped into unconsciousness last night, Sunday evening, 4 December. Both Anas Shadid, 19, and Ahmad Abu Fara, 29, have been on hunger strike since 25 September against their imprisonment without charge or trial under Israeli administrative detention.

Both are held at the Assaf Harofeh hospital. Their administrative detention has been “suspended” by the Israeli Supreme Court due to their health – but the orders against them remain in place and subject to renewal. The two have vowed to continue their strike until freedom. The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society also reported that Abu Fara lapsed briefly into unconsciousness last night and that doctors attempted to forcibly treat him through an IV of nutrients during that time. When he awakened, he rejected any form of artificial nutrition. The hospital has warned that both Shadid and Abu Fara are at risk of “sudden death.”

The two were visited in the hospital by Members of the Knesset for the Joint List, Ahmad Tibi and Osama Saadi, and Palestinian activist Qadri Abu Wasel. Tibi and Saadi called for the abolition of administrative detention and expressed their support for the hunger strikers, urging broader international popular support for their just cause.

Fellow hunger striker Ammar Hmour, who has refused food since 21 November in protest of his own imprisonment without trial, was transferred from the Negev desert prison to Ashkelon prison on Thursday; he continues to be held in isolation in retaliation for his hunger strike. https://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=774256 Hmour’s isolation cell in Ashkelon is very small, cold, with a noxious odor, reported Palestinian lawyer Karim Ajwa. He has been imprisoned without charge or trial since 16 February.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network urges escalated solidarity for the hunger strikers, particularly at this critical time. International solidarity can be key in supporting the struggle of these strikers, whose bodies and indeed, lives, are on the line for not only their own freedom, but that of all Palestinian prisoners.

Palestinian youth activist Daoud Ghoul re-arrested one week after release from Israeli prison

5 December 2016

Palestinian youth organizer Daoud Ghoul was among 14 Palestinians seized overnight by Israeli occupation forces, one week after his release from Israeli prison. Ghoul, 33, is the director of youth programs for the Health Work Committees and the Kanaan Network of Palestinian civil society organizations. He has been subject for over two years to repeated Israeli harassment and intimidation. His home was raided at 4:00 am and his personal belongings and electronics confiscated; he is currently being held at the Moskobiyeh interrogation center in Jerusalem.

On Sunday, 27 November, Ghoul was released after serving an 18-month sentence, accused by the Israeli occupation of affiliation with a “prohibited organization,” the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. After a visit to Brussels, Belgium in November 2014 in which he presented before the European Parliament about Israeli ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Jerusalem, threats to Palestinian life in the city, and attacks on Palestinian health workers, he was banned from his home city of Jerusalem by an Israeli military order. He was then banned from the West Bank and from international travel, and was forced to move to Haifa from his hometown of Silwan in East Jerusalem. On 15 June 2015, he was seized by occupation military forces one month after his HWC Jerusalem office was forcibly closed by the occupation military.

After serving his 18 month sentence ordered against him by a military court, Ghoul was welcomed last Sunday by his friends and family and by supporters around the world who had long demanded his release. The sudden re-arrest of Daoud Ghoul one week after his release recalls similar cases like that of student Bahaa al-Najjar, released from administrative detention in early November only to once again be imprisoned without charge or trial one week later, or Bilal Kayed, ordered to six months in administrative detention without charge or trial immediately following the expiration of his 14.5-year sentence.

Ghoul’s case is also similar to those of other youth activists persecuted by the Israeli occupation, as well as part of the ongoing attacks on Palestinians in Jerusalem, including mass arrests, harsh sentencing of children and the stripping of Jerusalem IDs of Palestinian Legislative Council members.

Ghoul was among six young Palestinians, many former prisoners, arrested in Jerusalem last night. All of their computers and mobile phones were confiscated and Amjad Abu Assab said that the pretext of “incitement via social media” was cited in at least some of the cases. Among those arrested were Uday Abu Saad and Mohammed Salah of Shuafat refugee camp, Jihad Amira and Amin Hamad from Sur Baher, and Saleh Muhaisen from the village of Issawiya, in addition to Ghoul.

Three more Palestinians from Qabatiya, south of Jenin, Mahmoud Abu Ein, Louay Ziad Zakarneh and Musa Abdel-Salam Kamil, were seized by occupation forces, as were Bilal Anas Abu Eid and Munir Hussein Briggah of al-Khalil. More Palestinian young people were arrested in Jericho and in Beit Fajar, south of Bethlehem.

Mohammed Abu Sakha’s appeal at Israeli Supreme Court today

5 December 2016

The Israeli Supreme Court will hear an appeal on Monday, 5 December, by Mohammed Abu Sakha, the 24-year-old Palestinian circus trainer and performer imprisoned without charge or trial under administrative detention since 14 December 2015. Abu Sakha’s case has drawn widespread international attention and support; his work with the Palestinian Circus School is well-known around the world and he has participated in multiple tours along with the children with whom he works. He has been part of the Circus School since 2007.

He was seized as he crossed through the Za’atara checkpoint near Nablus on his way to work at the school and has been held without charge or trial on the basis of secret evidence ever since. His six-month detention order was renewed in June for an additional six months, and will expire on 12 December. Abu Sakha’s case has drawn solidarity and support, not only from Palestinian communities and solidarity organizers, but also from Amnesty International as well as circus artists and performers in the UK, Belgium, Spain, Uruguay, Portugal, France, Germany, Chile, the United States and elsewhere.

The hearing is currently taking place, and the FreeAbuSakha Facebook page will be posting updates regarding the situation. Abu Sakha’s case was recently featured in a photographic essay by War on Want in collaboration with Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association.

Take action: Palestinian lawyer Anas Barghouthi pursued by Israeli occupation for three years

5 December 2016

Palestinian lawyer Anas Barghouthi will once again face an Israeli military court on Tuesday, 6 December, after three years of ongoing hearings after he was arrested and released on bail in 2013. Barghouthi is a long-time human rights lawyer who currently focuses on representing Palestinians in the Palestinian Authority courts, particularly those arrested for political reasons.

He was arrested by Israeli occupation forces on 15 September 2013 and accused of affiliation with a “prohibited organization,” the leftist Palestinian political party, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and being a member of a committee to organize public protests and demonstrations. In a somewhat rare occurrence, he was released on bail on 23 October 2013 after a military judge declared that there was no sufficient evidence against him.

For three years, Barghouthi has been summoned every three months to a court hearing at the Ofer military court, during which the military prosecution has failed to present any witnesses against him. He has also been subject to an international travel ban and is prohibited from leaving Palestine. 6 December is the last hearing in which the military prosecution will have the opportunity to present witnesses against him and make their case; he is threatened with 18 months in prison.

Amnesty International has issued an urgent action alert in relation to the case of Anas Barghouthi, urging supporters around the world to advocate for the dropping of all charges against him as he is being charged based on his work as a lawyer and a defender of Palestinian political prisoners, noting that his persecution comes in the context of ongoing harassment, arrests, threats, intimidation and imprisonment of Palestinian lawyers, activists and other human rights defenders.

Amnesty’s action is reprinted below. Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network urges action to support Anas Barghouthi and all Palestinian human rights defenders and Palestinian political prisoners:

End harassment of Palestinian human rights lawyer
Israeli authorities have their final chance to take forward the prosecution of Palestinian human rights defender Anas Barghouti at a hearing on 6 December. Arrested and bailed three years ago, he has had to attend a court hearing every three months since then, only for the case to be postponed each time. He is facing a maximum of 18 months in prison.

Anas Barghouti, 33, is a lawyer and human rights defender who was arrested by the Israeli authorities on 15 September 2013. Amnesty International considered him a prisoner of conscience at the time because his arrest was based solely on his peaceful work as a human rights defender, representing Palestinians detained by Palestinian security forces. The Israeli military prosecution charged him with “membership of the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine” (PFLP), an organization which Israel has banned, and “leadership of a committee to organize demonstrations”. He denies both these charges. On 23 October 2013, a military judge ordered him released on bail because there was not sufficient evidence against him to consider him a security threat.

Since he was charged on 24 September 2013, Anas Barghouti has had to attend a court hearing every three months at Ofer Military Court in the occupied West Bank. However, each time he has attended the court, the prosecution has failed to produce the witnesses against him, and the case has been postponed for another three months. Each hearing means a lost day of work for Anas Barghouti, who has now set up his own legal practice in Ramallah, where he continues to represent Palestinians arrested by the Palestinian authorities. It is also a day of uncertainty for him and his family about whether he will be coming home. The hearing on 6 December is the last chance for the prosecution to produce the witnesses against Anas Barghouti, or the case will be dismissed.

Anas Barghouti told Amnesty International at his office in Ramallah on 8 November: “I would be happy if this case ends as it should – that I will not return to prison. That idea, no matter how much you have come to terms with it, is still extremely difficult.” He also hopes that the ban on travel the Israeli authorities placed on him since his arrest will be lifted.

Please write immediately in Hebrew or English or your own language:

n Calling on the Israeli authorities to drop all charges against Anas Barghouti, and pointing out that if convicted and imprisoned Amnesty International would consider him a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for his work as a lawyer on behalf of prisoners and for the peaceful expression of his political views;
n Calling on them to put an immediate end to harassment of Anas Barghouti and other human rights defenders in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
n Calling on them to immediately lift the travel ban imposed on Anas Barghouti

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 6 DECEMBEBR 2016 TO:

Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu
Office of the Prime Minister
3 Kaplan St, PO Box 187
Kiryat Ben-Gurion
Jerusalem 91950, Israel
Email: b.netanyahu@pmo.gov.il
pm_eng@pmo.gov.il
Salutation: Dear Prime Minister

Military Judge Advocate General
Brigadier General Sharon Afek
6 David Elazar Street
Hakirya
Tel Aviv,
Israel
Fax: +972 3 569 4526
Email: Mag@idf.gov.il
Salutation: Dear Brigadier General

And copies to:

Minister of Defence
Avigdor Liberman
Ministry of Defence
37 Kaplan Street
Hakirya
Tel Aviv 61909, Israel
Fax: +972 73 323 3300
Email: minister@mod.gov.ilAlso send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please insert local diplomatic addresses below:
Name Address 1 Address 2 Address 3 Fax Fax number Email Email address Salutation Salutation

Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date. This is the second update of UA 276/13. Further information: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/MDE15/018/2013/en/

Additional Information

Anas Barghouti was arrested by the Israeli army at a military checkpoint north of Bethlehem in the Occupied Palestinian Territories on 15 September 2013. He had been on his way home to Ramallah after a visit to friends and family. At around 7pm Israeli soldiers stopped the car in which he was travelling and arrested him after he said he was a lawyer and presented his Palestinian Bar Association card. The soldiers confiscated his phone and questioned him, then blindfolded and handcuffed him and transferred him to a detention centre in the illegal Israeli settlement of Etzion. He was then taken to Ofer military complex where he was held until his release on bail. He was first presented to a military court on 16 September when a judge agreed to the military prosecutor’s request to extend his detention without charge until 22 September. On that date, his detention was again extended until 24 September when he was charged. He had a court hearing on 1 October at which his trial was postponed until 9 October and then adjourned again until 23 October, when he was released on bail.

At the time of his arrest, Anas Barghouti was working for Addameer Association for Prisoner Support and Human Rights, an NGO based in Ramallah, and, through this work, was providing legal support and representation for Palestinians held by the Palestinian security forces. His main responsibility was to follow up on cases of arbitrary arrests by the Palestinian authorities in the West Bank and represent victims in court, including the Palestinian Supreme Court. Anas Barghouti says he faces ongoing harassment by the Palestinian security forces for his work in defending the human rights of Palestinian detainees, for example obstructing his visits to Palestinian prisons and telling his clients not to work with him. Anas Barghouti’s other human rights work included organizing and participating in events and activities calling for the protection and respect of the human rights of Palestinian detainees and prisoners in Israeli prisons.

Anas Barghouti spoke to Amnesty International about the effect his ongoing case has had on him: “The day of the court is a day gone, and it creates a tension within me and with my family. Especially when you’re in the court from 10am-4pm and your phone is taken away from you, so there’s no way for my family to know what is happening. When I have a hearing I make sure I clear my calendar, I make sure I have no work or social commitments. I am a lawyer, but when I go to court, this is nullified. The travel ban also makes me feel as if I am in a big prison – I can neither go inside Israel nor abroad.”

Military trials at Ofer Military Court are frequently postponed when the prosecution has failed to produce their witnesses – who are often other Palestinian prisoners, or members of the Israeli forces. Amnesty International has in the past expressed concern in certain cases that repeated and unjustified delays in trials were themselves a method of punishing Palestinians who were either detained or on bail. Palestinians face unfair trial before an Israeli military court, whose proceedings fall short of international standards for fair trial. Judges and prosecutors are recruited from the Israeli military. Judges are appointed by the Regional Commander on the Military Advocate General’s recommendation and promoted almost exclusively from the ranks of prosecutors. Once appointed, judges have no right of tenure and can be removed by the Regional Commander at any time. Serious doubts have been expressed about their impartiality. Trials are often based on confessions from witnesses who have been known to withdraw them later, saying they were made under duress. Defendants regularly resort to plea bargains even when they maintain they are innocent because they do not believe they will have a fair trial and feel they have no choice other than to accept a guilty plea which will lead to a reduced sentence.

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