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Update on the case of Amer Jubran

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From the Amer Jubran Defense Campaign

We would like to send out our thanks to all those who have sent faxes and emails on Amer Jubran‘s behalf.

In January, Jordan’s State Security Court reduced Amer’s sentence from 10 years to 6 years. Current Jordanian law states that actual prison time served can be additionally reduced by 25% for “good behavior.” This along with time already served (1 year and 9 months) means that Amer may still have to serve another 2 years and 8 months in prison.

In December, Amer was moved to a prison that is an hour and a half away from his family. He gets only 10 minutes with each family member when he is allowed visits. Every day in prison is time away from his wife and four children, time away from his parents, extended family, and friends.

Though the sentence by Jordan’s State Security Court was reduced, it is still not just. A verdict that is solely based on a coerced confession under torture should be overturned. Amer Jubran has done nothing wrong. He should be free.

Please stay tuned for further updates and action calls and thank you again for your support.

Amer Jubran Defense Campaign
freeamer.wordpress.com

Urgent Action: Mohammed al-Qeeq rejects Israeli Supreme Court “suspension” of his detention; hunger strike continues

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Hunger-striking imprisoned Palestinian journalist Mohammad Al-Qeeq has rejected the “suspension” of his administrative detention order by the Israeli Supreme Court due to his severe health crisis. He remains captive, under Israeli custody, and forbidden from moving to a Palestinian or other hospital. Al-Qeeq, 33, has announced that he rejects this action, as he is demanding his freedom and the cancellation of his administrative detention without charge or trial – not its “suspension” and reimposition at a later date while being held prisoner in an Israeli hospital. His hunger strike continues and he is now on his 72nd day of strike. Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network urges all supporters of Palestine, justice and freedom to take action to stand with Mohammed al-Qeeq at this critically important moment and demand his freedom.

Furthermore, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Affairs Commission reported that al-Qeeq reiterated his rejection of receiving vitamins or any form of nutrition or medical examinations until he receives his freedom and an end to administrative detention, and stated that he will only accept treatment from Palestinian hospitals. The Commission also stated that al-Qeeq said that the Supreme Court “suspension” is an attempt to circumvent and undermine his legitimate resistance to the inhumane, arbitrary and immoral practive of administrative detention and an attempt to silence the growing international movement against administrative detention without charge or trial.

The statement also noted that al-Qeeq’s continued detention is an attack on his freedom of opinion and expression as a journalist, and that this decision only underlines the Israeli judiciary’s role as part and parcel of the same system of occupation and oppression as the Shin Bet and the Israeli military.

Al-Qeeq is one of over 670 Palestinian prisoners held in administrative detention without charge or trial, among approximately 7000 Palestinian prisoners total in Israeli jails.

In August 2015, hunger-striking Palestinian lawyer Muhammad Allan, held like Al-Qeeq without charge or trial in Israeli prisons, suspended his own hunger strike after a similar order followed a demonstration of brain damage during his hunger strike. Following a month of treatment and his discharge from the hospital, Allan was immediately re-arrested and held in administrative detention until the end of the original order against him, 4 November. Allan was then released and has participated in solidarity actions in support of Al-Qeeq.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network urges all supporters of Palestinian prisoners and of freedom for Mohammed al-Qeeq to continue to escalate the pressure until al-Qeeq wins his freedom. After 72 days of hunger strike, his health crisis is severe, and the Israeli state is only attempting new maneuvers to suppress his struggle for freedom. It is urgent, now more than ever, to organize and act to demand real freedom and justice for Mohammed al-Qeeq and all Palestinian prisoners.

We urge you to take the streets in protest in New York, Berlin, Montreal and other cities and escalate the pressure on the Israeli state to free this Palestinian journalist held without charge or trial, end administrative detention, and free all Palestinian prisoners.

Take Action:

1. Contact government officials and demand that they break their silence on Al-Qeeq and support for Israeli violations of Palestinian rights. In the United States, call the Israel Foreign Service Desk
1-202-647-3672 and the White House – 202-456-1111. Demand action on al-Qeeq’s case and an end to aid to Israel. In the UK, call UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Philip Hammond, MP, +44 20 7008 1500. In Canada, call Foreign Minister Stephane Dion: 613-996-5789.

2. Protest at an Israeli consulate or embassy (or federal building, G4S office or public square) and demand freedom for Mohammed al-Qeeq. Join the protests scheduled in New York, Berlin and Montreal or organize your own. Raise the issue of this case publicly and distribute information – this flyer is available for you to distribute at protests in your community. Find your closest Israeli consulate: http://embassy.goabroad.com/embassies-of/israel.  Please email us at samidoun@samidoun.netto inform us of your action – we will publicize and share news with the prisoners.

3. Boycott, Divest and Sanction. Palestinians have urged an international boycott of Israeli goods and institutions – and corporations that profit from occupation , like G4S, the world’s largest private security company, that sells security equipment to Israeli prisons, checkpoints and police training centers – directly profiting from the occupation that destroys Palestinian lives. At the same time G4S profits from occupation, institutions like the United Nations continue to do business with it. Go to addameer.org/UNdropG4S to take action!

Urgent call: Stand in solidarity with Omar Nayef Zayed, former Palestinian prisoner targeted for extradition

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Arabic Language | Materials | Take Action

The campaign in solidarity with Omar Nayef Zayed issued an urgent call to intensify events, protests and activities of solidarity with the former Palestinian prisoner in the coming days, including protests at Bulgarian embassies and consulates and European Union offices, in order to defend his safety and freedom. Omar Nayef Zayed, who escaped Israeli occupation imprisonment in 1990 after a 40-day hunger strike, has lived in Bulgaria for the past 22 years. He is being sought for extradition by the occupation authorities, who have asked Bulgaria to turn Zayed over. We must escalate our protests now to demand Bulgaria reject the Israeli occupation’s attempt to use Bulgarian and European forces to further oppress a Palestinian political prisoner.

The coming days and weeks are crucial for the case of Omar Nayef Zayed, and it is critical to continue popular campaigns, demonstrations and marches inside and outside Palestine, petitioning, statements and articles and social media campaigns in support of this former Palestinian prisoner. Protesting outside Bulgarian consulates and embassies is particularly important, to demand that Bulgaria reject the extradition of Omar Nayef Zayed to the Israeli occupation and instead protect him, a Bulgarian resident and husband and father to Bulgarian citizens.

Urgent and immediate action is necessary to protect the life of Omar Nayef Zayed, who has taken refuge in the Palestinian embassy in Sofia, Bulgaria. He faces a true and grave danger, and Palestinian, Arab and international support and solidarity is critical to highlight his case and protect his freedom. His case has serious implications for Palestinians everywhere, especially former prisoners and veteran strugglers.

بيان هام / عاجل : صادر عن حملة التضامن مع المناضل عمر النايف

دعت حملة التضامن مع الاسير المحرر عمر النايف إلى تكثيف فعاليات ونشاطات التضامن مع المناضل النايف وعائلته خلال الأيام والأسابيع القادمة والاعتصام أمام السفارات البلغارية، ومقار الاتحاد الأوروبي والهيئات الحقوقية والدولية، وذلك من أجل ضمان سلامته وحريته ووقف ملاحقته من قبل سلطات الاحتلال التي تسعى للضغط على بلغاريا لإبعاده وتسليمه للسلطات الاسرائيلية بهدف إعادة محاكمته.

وقالت الحملة في بيان صادر عنها اليوم الخميس ” أن الأيام والأسابيع القادمة ستكون حاسمة في تطور قضية عمر النايف”، مؤكدة على أهمية ” تواصل الحملات الشعبية، وتنظيم المظاهرات والمسيرات في الوطن والشتات، وكتابة العرائض والبيانات والمقالات ونشر أخبار الحملة من خلال وسائل التواصل الاجتماعي، وتنظيم الاعتصامات الجماهيرية أمام السفارات البلغارية على وجه الخصوص للمطالبة بوقف إبعاده أو تسليمه للاحتلال.”

وأشارت الحملة في بيانها إلى ضرورة ” التحرك العاجل والفوري من أجل إنقاذ حياة المناضل النايف ” الذي لجأ إلى السفارة الفلسطينية في صوفيا ببلغاريا طلباً لممارسة حقه في الحماية والرعاية السياسية والقانونية .

كما أشارت مصادر الحملة أن حياة النايف أصبحت اليوم في خطر داهم وحقيقي.

ويطالب الأسير المحرر عمر النايف بأن تتوقف حملة الملاحقة بحقه، وأن يبقى إلى جانب عائلته في بلغاريا حيث يقيم ويعمل منذ نحو 22 سنة .

 

The following resources, prepared by Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, can be used by individuals, groups and organizations advocating for justice for Omar Nayef Zayed:

Take Action:

1. CALL IN TO THE BULGARIAN EMBASSY IN YOUR COUNTRY.

Key Phone Numbers:
Washington, DC:  +1 (202)387-0174;
London: +44 20 7581 3144
Ottawa: +1 613 789 3215
EU Mission in Brussels: +32 2 2358300

Other Bulgarian embassy numbers available here:  http://embassy.goabroad.com/embassies-of/bulgaria

Make the following points:

  • You are calling about the case of Omar Nayef Zayed, a Palestinian in Bulgaria facing extradition to Israel.
  • Bulgaria should not extradite Omar Nayef Zayed to Israel and should stop all efforts and cancel all warrants for his arrest, imprisonment or extradition
  • Omar was a former Palestinian political prisoner. Omar’s case is a political matter that is excluded from the European Convention on Extradition.
  • Omar’s wife and children have the right to life with their husband and father. Bulgaria should not be ripping apart a family to send their father to be a political prisoner again.

2. ORGANIZE A LETTER DELIVERY TO THE BULGARIAN EMBASSY OR CONSULATE IN YOUR COUNTRY OR CITY.

Go with other members of your Palestine solidarity group, prisoner justice advocates, or concerned residents of your area to the Bulgarian embassy as a delegation to deliver a letter calling on Bulgaria not to extradite Omar Nayef Zayed.

3. PROTEST OUTSIDE THE BULGARIAN EMBASSY OR CONSULATE IN YOUR COUNTRY OR CITY
Inminds in London is organizing a protest outside the Bulgarian embassy in the UK on Friday, 8 January – kicking off the week of action. Events like these in cities with Bulgarian consulates are very important.

  • You can do this with a small group or a large group – even a small picket will be noticed. Please take pictures and send them to samidoun@samidoun.net!
  • You can also combine this with a letter delivery – send in a delegation to deliver your official letter before or after your picket/protest.
  • The more events like this around the world at various embassies and consulates, the more the Bulgarian government will realize that Omar’s case has international significance and support and must be taken seriously.

4. CONTINUE TO SEND EMAILS AND LETTERS AND SHARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Hundreds of you have already emailed the Bulgarian government urging them to reject the extradition of Omar Nayef Zayed. Thank you, and please continue to do so here: https://samidoun.net/2015/12/urgent-action-stop-extradition-of-omar-nayef-zayed-former-palestinian-prisoner-from-bulgaria/

The events above are very important – visible contact, physical letters and audible phone calls make an even stronger impact. But all of your emails are also critically important to make it clear that Omar has support and friends around the world who want to see him free and safe with his family.

Share the Justice for Omar Nayef Zayed facebook pages (English) and (Arabic) and this alert – spread the word to your colleagues and comrades. The more voices that are heard, the louder Omar’s call for justice becomes.

Al-Qeeq reportedly on “verge of death” on 72nd day of hunger strike for imprisoned Palestinian journalist

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The fathers of Palestinian youth martyrs of the current popular intifada, Bayan al-Esseili, Danya and Uday Irshaid, and Malik Al-Shareef announced a hunger strike in solidarity with Mohammed al-Qeeq, Palestinian journalist now on his 72nd day of hunger strike in protest of his administrative detention without charge or trial by the Israeli occupation.

Photos: Reham Alhelsi of A Voice from Palestine

Al-Qeeq, 33, launched his hunger strike on 25 November in protest of the torture he was experiencing under interrogation, continuing his strike after he was ordered to administrative detention without charge or trial. He is currently held, shackled to his hospital bed, in HaEmek hospital in Afula, where he has lost his vision and ability to hear and is reported to be “on the verge of death.” He has continued to refuse any treatment or nourishment, and is scheduled to receive a visit from Physicians for Human Rights Israel Dr. Mahmud Mahamid today prior to a Supreme Court hearing on his case. A prior scheduled visit by Mahamid was cancelled at the last minute by hospital and security officials.

The HaEmek hospital ethics committee convened yesterday, 3 February, to discuss al-Qeeq’s case. “The hospital said that at this point it was merely monitoring his medical condition without intervening. It added that there were no plans to force-feed him,” reported Ha’aretz, but Issa Qaraqe of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Affairs Committee said that Al-Qeeq is in danger of being subject to forced treatment, as he has been subjected to on two past occasions.

In addition, Amjad Najjar, of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society in Al-Khalil, said that Fateh prisoners held in administrative detention in the Negev prison have said that they are planning to launch a strike in solidarity with al-Qeeq. Prisoners of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine have held successive solidarity strikes with Al-Qeeq, including one taking place today, 4 February. Hamas prisoners held a solidarity hunger strike on Tuesday, returning all of their meals and demanding Al-Qeeq’s release. In Eshel, those who participated were banned from family visits for one month.

Fellow Palestinian administrative detainee Kayed Abu Rish is also being held in HaEmek hospital; he is 21 days into a hunger strike in protest of the renewal of his detention without charge or trial. Jordanian prisoner Akram Zahra, whose sentence was scheduled to expire on 15 January but was arbitrarily detained inside Israeli jails since that date and launched a hunger strike, is scheduled to be released and cross the border to Jordan today.

Take Action:

1. Contact government officials and demand that they break their silence on Al-Qeeq and support for Israeli violations of Palestinian rights. In the United States, call the Israel Foreign Service Desk
1-202-647-3672 and the White House – 202-456-1111. Demand action on al-Qeeq’s case and an end to aid to Israel. In the UK, call UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Philip Hammond, MP, +44 20 7008 1500. In Canada, call Foreign Minister Stephane Dion: 613-996-5789.

2. Protest at an Israeli consulate or embassy (or federal building, G4S office or public square) and demand freedom for Mohammed al-Qeeq. Join the protests scheduled in New York, Berlin and Montreal or organize your own. Raise the issue of this case publicly and distribute information – this flyer is available for you to distribute at protests in your community. Find your closest Israeli consulate: http://embassy.goabroad.com/embassies-of/israel.  Please email us at samidoun@samidoun.net to inform us of your action – we will publicize and share news with the prisoners.

3. Boycott, Divest and Sanction. Palestinians have urged an international boycott of Israeli goods and institutions – and corporations that profit from occupation , like G4S, the world’s largest private security company, that sells security equipment to Israeli prisons, checkpoints and police training centers – directly profiting from the occupation that destroys Palestinian lives. At the same time G4S profits from occupation, institutions like the United Nations continue to do business with it. Go to addameer.org/UNdropG4S to take action!

 

Guns for hire: the return of the ‘Dogs of War’

Mercenaries Unleashed, 2016-page-001The rise in mercenaries fighting on the front line in conflict zones in Africa and the Middle East is a frightening return of the ‘Dogs of War’, according to a new report published today by War on Want.

While the Nigerian government has secured the services of South African mercenary troops from the apartheid era to fight the militant Islamist group Boko Haram in the north of the country, Colombian mercenaries are fighting alongside Saudi forces in Yemen.

The report, Mercenaries Unleashed: The brave new world of private military and security companies, reveals how this vast private industry, now worth hundreds of billions of dollars, is dominated by UK companies reaping enormous profits from exploiting war, instability and conflict around the world.

Private military and security companies (PMSCs) burst onto the scene 15 years ago, following the declaration of a ‘war on terror’ and the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.

John Hilary, Executive Director at War on Want, said:

“Private military contractors ran amok in Iraq and Afghanistan, leaving a trail of human rights abuses in their wake. Now we are seeing the alarming rise of mercenaries fighting on the front line in conflict zones across the world: it is the return of the ‘Dogs of War’.

“For too long this murky world of guns for hire has been allowed to grow unchecked. In letting the industry regulate itself, the government has failed: only binding regulation will do. The time has come to ban these companies from operating in conflict zones and end the privatisation of war.”

It is not just on land that PMSCs are rife. The use of private armies in the maritime industry is booming, and British companies are again at the forefront, providing services to oil corporations seeking to secure assets along major sea lanes.

The report explains how PMSCs are increasingly exploiting a legal loophole when it comes to use of arms in international waters. Making use of floating armouries (ships harboured at sea and stacked with rifles, ammunition, night vision goggles and other military grade equipment) they are able to operate freely without fear of legal repercussions.

There are 20 such armouries currently on the Indian Ocean.  The UK Department of Business, Innovation and Skills has issued 50 licences for floating armouries operating in Indian Ocean & Gulf of Aden.

Gaza activity in solidarity with administrative detainee Mohammed al-Qeeq

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On Wednesday morning, 3 February 2016, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) organized an activity in solidarity with journalist Mohammed al-Qeeq, the administrative detainee on hunger strike, at the Commodore Hotel in Gaza City. The activity was held while al-Qeeq has been enduring his open hunger strike for 70 consecutive days and the resultant health deterioration amidst Israeli relentless attempts to force-feed him again. It should be noted that Israeli forces force-fed al-Qeeq in the past days in violation of his right not to be tortured or degradingly treated, and in a manner jeopardizing his life.

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The activity was opened by Dr. Riyadh al-Za’noun, Chairman of PCHR’s Board of Directors, who highlighted that al-Qeeq had started this open hunger strike because he experienced unbearable oppression and injustice during the administrative detention period. Al-Za’noun pointed out that the administrative detention under which al-Qeeq is placed is in itself a war crime and a detention of the freedom of speech that is legalized by the Israeli courts although al-Qeeq’s life is at stake. All of this happens while the whole world is watching but doing nothing.

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Mr. Yasser Saleh, representative of the Prisoners’ Committee of Islamic and National Factions, delivered a speech in which he stressed that al-Qeeq is a free person, who pledged himself to expose the daily violations committed against the Palestinian people to the world. Saleh added that Israeli forces by detaining al-Qeeq aimed at targeting and silencing media personnel and confronting the freedom of expression. He further said that al-Qeeq was resisting the Israeli occupation when he was outside prison by performing his duties as a journalist, while he is resisting the occupation inside with his hunger and empty stomach. Saleh underscored is also trying to put an end to the administrative detention policy that can be applied against any of those practicing the freedom of opinion and expression in spite of his deteriorating health condition that resulted in speaking and hearing loss and a blurry vision.

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Mr. Emad al-Efranji, Director of the Palestinian Journalists’ Forum, said that Israeli occupation is the reason behind the suffering of the Palestinian people for tens of years; the Israeli occupation that uprooted the Palestinian people and occupied their land. Al-Efranji further said that Israeli forces arrest journalists to conceal the truth by killing and arresting them or confiscating their equipment. He added that the Israeli forces always accuse journalists of “media incitement”. Al-Efranji highlighted that the Palestinian journalists are known for their devotion at work and annoying the Israeli occupation with pens and cameras, therefore, they are accused of such an accusation.

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Moreover, lawyer Raji Sourani, Director of PCHR, confirmed that we cannot talk about Justice and law under the Israeli occupation, and everyone who thinks that Israel respects human and public rights is misguided, because Israel is the opposite of justice, human rights and freedom of expression. Al-Sourani pointed out that the Israeli military courts from the beginning of the occupation have never been applied justice or law; they rather practice the law of the jungle because all the military orders violate the law, justice and human rights. Furthermore, Sourani added that al-Qeeq won his battle from the first moment of his hunger strike, clarifying that freedom and dignity reflect a state of moral, humanitarian and cultural superiority towards the barbaric practices of the Israeli occupation. In addition, he underscored that everyone who was involved in the force-feeding crime against al-Qeeq, including legislators and doctors, who were directly involved in this crime, will be prosecuted.

Journalist Fayhaa Shalash, al-Qeeq’s wife, emphasized via phone from Ramallah that her husband has been on hunger strike drinking only water but without any dietary supplements. In addition, she said that Israeli forces prevent family visits to him and he is still handcuffed in spite of his presence at the hospital. She pointed out that she and his family do not know anything about his heath; they only know about him from the news. Moreover, Shalash underscored that her husband refuses any deals with the Israeli occupation and his only demand is freedom.

At the end of the activity, the participants delivered speeches in which they called for conjugating efforts to support al-Qeeq and all Palestinian prisoners in the Israeli jails.

Take Action: CATSA – Drop G4S, Don’t Support War Crimes in Palestine! #CanadaDropG4S

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Click here to sign the petition to tell Canadian Air Transportation Security Authority Chairperson Lloyd McCoomb to drop G4S, the security corporation involved in human rights violations in Palestine:

In 2011 the Canadian Air Transportation Security Authority CATSA, the crown corporation responsible for security at Canadian airports, awarded G4S Canada (the wholly owned Canadian subsidiary of a British-based security company) a contract worth up up to $416 million for security at airports in the Pacific Region (which includes BC and the Yukon).  The contract covers 20 airports including YVR until March 31, 2017.

Because of contracts with Israel which make it complicit in the maintenance of the repressive infrastructure of the occupation and apartheid state, G4S is the target of an international campaign for boycott and divestment.

G4S provides security systems for the Ketziot and Megiddo prisons, which hold Palestinian political prisoners from occupied Palestinian territory inside Israel. Article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits the transfer of prisoners from occupied territory into the territory of the occupier.
G4S also provides equipment for Ofer prison, located in the occupied West Bank, and for Kishon and Moskobiyyeh detention facilities, where human rights organisations have documented systematic torture and ill treatment of Palestinian prisoners, including child prisoners. Defence for Children-Palestine (DCI-Palestine) has released an urgent appeal to end the practice of holding Palestinian children from the West Bank in solitary confinement in facilities in Israel.
Beyond Israel’s prison system, G4S provides equipment and services to Israeli checkpoints in the West Bank along the route of Israel’s illegal apartheid Wall and to the terminals isolating the occupied and besieged territory of Gaza. G4S also contracts for equipment and services for the West Bank Israeli Police headquarters and to private businesses based in illegal Israeli settlements. A panel of legal experts has concluded that G4S may be criminally liable for its activities in support of Israel’s illegal Wall and other violations of international law.

Internationally, G4S has been implicated in human rights violations against Indigenous people and poor rural communities, particularly in the Global South where it provides security to international mining and oil&gas companies.

In recent years numerous institutions and governments have heeded the call for boycott and divestment from G4S including the Bill Gates Foundation, the British Broadcasting Corporation, the US United Methodist Church and the municipality of Durham County in North Carolina.

With numerous other security options available, it’s time for CATSA to side with human rights and a just and lasting peace and cancel their contract with G4S. Join us in telling CATSA to “Drop G4S, Don’t Support War Crimes in Palestine”!

More info on Stop G4S in Canada atwww.cpavancouver.org/index.php/2015/08/10/boycott-and-divest-from-g4/

Click here to sign the petition to tell Canadian Air Transportation Security Authority Chairperson Lloyd McCoomb to drop G4S, the security corporation involved in human rights violations in Palestine!

Take action: 71 days of hunger strike for imprisoned Palestinian journalist Al-Qeeq

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Hunger-striking Palestinian journalist Mohammed al-Qeeq is facing a severe risk of stroke, warned his lawyer Ashraf Abu Sneineh on 2 February. He has lost a massive amount of weight, and there is evidence of damage to internal organs of his body, Abu Sneineh said.

Al-Qeeq, 33, is a Palestinian journalist, a correspondent for Al-Majd channel, who is held without charge or trial in Israeli administrative detention. He launched his hunger strike on 25 November while being subjected to torture under interrogation; he has continued his strike since then in protest of his imprisonment without charge or trial. Held in HaEmek hospital in Afula, he is demanding his immediate release and is in critical condition.

Amnesty International, Reporters without Borders, and the European Union have all expressed serious concern for his case; on 2 February, Robert Piper, United Nations Coordinator for Humanitarian Assistance and Development Aid, said in a statement: “I am deeply concerned about the continued practice of administrative detention in Israeli jails and detention centers.”

“In particular, I am alarmed by the rapidly deteriorating health of Palestinian administrative detainee, Mohammed Al-Qiq, who is on hunger strike in protest against the arbitrary nature of his detention and ill-treatment,” Piper said.

Al-Qeeq’s case will be brought once again before the Israeli Supreme Court on Thursday, 4 February. The court previously declined to take any action on the case, instead asking for ongoing health reports from the hospital where he is held. Al-Qeeq has lost the ability to speak and 60% of his hearing.

Also on Thursday, Al-Qeeq will reportedly receive a visit from Dr. Mahmud Mahamid of Physicians for Human Rights – Israel. It was previously reported that this visit would take place two weeks ago, but on the day of the scheduled visit, the hospital denied Dr. Mahamid access to Al-Qeeq.

In a press conference on Thursday, 3 February, Fayha Shalash, Al-Qeeq’s wife and a fellow Palestinian journalist, highlighted the urgency of his situation as well as Al-Qeeq’s determination to continue. She noted that she has not been able to see her husband, nor has she been permitted to introduce photos of their children or books, including a Qur’an, for her husband in the hospital.

Palestinians in Gaza are participating in a six-day hunger strike in solidarity with Al-Qeeq in Gaza City, including former hunger striker Ayman Sharawneh and Palestinian journalists. They “called on Arab and European parliaments as well as human rights and journalism organizations to help free Qeeq from Israeli custody.”

A twitter campaign is planned for today, 3 February, to demand Qeeq’s release: http://samidoun.net/?p=9409

(Cartoon: Carlos Latuff)

Take Action:

1. Contact government officials and demand that they break their silence on Al-Qeeq and support for Israeli violations of Palestinian rights. In the United States, call the Israel Foreign Service Desk
1-202-647-3672 and the White House – 202-456-1111. Demand action on al-Qeeq’s case and an end to aid to Israel. In the UK, call UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Philip Hammond, MP, +44 20 7008 1500. In Canada, call Foreign Minister Stephane Dion: 613-996-5789.

2. Join the Twitter campaign in support of Al-Qeeq, today, 3 February: See details on the campaign here: http://samidoun.net/?p=9409

3. Protest at an Israeli consulate or embassy (or federal building, G4S office or public square) and demand freedom for Mohammed al-Qeeq. Raise the issue of this case publicly and distribute information – this flyer is available for you to distribute at protests in your community. Find your closest Israeli consulate: http://embassy.goabroad.com/embassies-of/israel.  Please email us atsamidoun@samidoun.net to inform us of your action – we will publicize and share news with the prisoners.

4. Boycott, Divest and Sanction. Palestinians have urged an international boycott of Israeli goods and institutions – and corporations that profit from occupation , like G4S, the world’s largest private security company, that sells security equipment to Israeli prisons, checkpoints and police training centers – directly profiting from the occupation that destroys Palestinian lives. At the same time G4S profits from occupation, institutions like the United Nations continue to do business with it. Go to addameer.org/UNdropG4S to take action!

Tampa vigil stands in solidarity with Palestinian hunger striker Al-Qeeq

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Block the Boat Tampa organized an emergency vigil outside the offices of G4S in Riverside, Florida on Tuesday, 2 February, calling for the immediate release of Palestinian hunger striker Mohammed al-Qeeq on his 70th day of hunger strike.

Al-Qeeq, 33, is a Palestinian journalist who is held under administrative detention without charge or trial in Israeli prison. On hunger strike in protest of torture and administrative detention since 25 November 2015, he is held in HaEmek hospital in Afula in critical condition.

G4S is the world’s largest security corporation, and provides security systems, control rooms and equipment to Israeli prisons, checkpoints and police training centers, directly implicating it in the torture and abuse of Palestinian prisoners. It is subject to an international campaign calling for boycott of G4S because of its involvement in human rights violations in Palestine and elsewhere, including a call from Palestinian prisoners for international boycott of G4S. Hundreds of organizations have demanded the United Nations end its contracts with G4S.

Watch a video of Tampa organizers discussing the protest:

Photos:

Murals in Denmark and Gaza urge release of hunger striking Palestinian journalist Al-Qeeq

Two murals – one in Copenhagen, Denmark and one in Gaza City, Palestine – were unveiled this weekend in separate acts of artistic support for hunger-striking Palestinian journalist Mohammed al-Qeeq, who has now been on hunger strike for 71 days, demanding his release from Israeli administrative detention without charge or trial.

The Mohja Jerusalem Foundation displayed a new mural in front of the International Committee of the Red Cross headquarters in Gaza City on Sunday, 31 January; the display of the mural is part of a series of events being organized by Mohja to demand the freedom of al-Qeeq as well as imprisoned journalist colleague Mujahed al-Saadi.

Tareq Abu Shallouf said that the organization had chosen the wall near the Red Cross building as the location for a mural as it is a site of constant protests and activities in support of Palestinian prisoners.

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Separately, in Copenhagen, Denmark, Palestinian Danish artist Salim Assi revealed a mural on 1 February in solidarity with Al-Qeeq, highlighting his role as a Palestinian journalist. Assi’s work, on free walls around Copenhagen and other cities, often highlights the Palestinian struggle for liberation: also pictured below is a mural by Assi calling for freedom for all Palestinian prisoners and highlighting the case of Ahmad Manasrah, the 14-year-old child prisoner whose wounding and abuse by settler colonists was captured on video.

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Photos: Mohja Foundation, Salim Assi

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