Freedom for Mohammed al-Qeeq and all Palestinian prisoners, urge NYC protesters

23 January 2016

New Yorkers came out on Friday, 22 January – despite low temperatures and a threatened heavy snowstorm – to protest G4S‘s complicity in Israeli imprisonment, torture and oppression of Palestinians, and to call for freedom for imprisoned Palestinian journalist Mohammed al-Qeeq, on his 59th day of hunger strike against his detention without charge or trial.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network – NY protests weekly outside the New York headquarters of G4S, the British-Danish security multinational that provides security systems and control rooms to Israeli prisons, checkpoints and police training centers, placing G4S and its equipment at the heart of the “matrix of control” that governs Palestinian lives under occupation and apartheid. Hundreds of organizations around the world, following calls from Palestinian prisoners and Palestinian organizations, have urged a boycott of G4S, and especially urged the United Nations to stop doing business with the corporation.

Indeed, just last week, the Hollands Kroon municipality in the Netherlands rejected a contract with G4S following a campaign by BDS activists, including the GreenLeft party, urging that G4S be excluded on human rights grounds.

The protest came as al-Qeeq, 33 and a correspondent for Al-Majd TV, neared two full months on hunger strike. Held shackled to a hospital bed in Afula Hospital, al-Qeeq was ordered by military order to imprisonment under administrative detention for six months, renewable – without charge, without trial, under secret evidence. Al-Qeeq is the latest of a number of Palestinians – including fellow Palestinian journalist Nidal Abu Aker – to undertake a long term hunger strike against the use of administrative detention without charge or trial.

Photos by Joe Catron.

Rome protest demands justice, no extradition for Omar Nayef Zayed

23 January 2016

The Arab Palestinian Democratic Union (UDAP) in Rome, Italy organized a demonstration outside the Bulgarian Embassy to Italy on Thursday, 21 January, demanding an end to all attempts to extradite former Palestinian prisoner Omar Nayef Zayed to the Israeli occupation.

Demonstrators gathered outside the embassy to demand Bulgaria protect, rather than extradite Zayed, a former Palestinian prisoner who escaped Israeli custody in 1990 after a 40-day hunger strike. Zayed has been living in Bulgaria for 22 years; his wife and children are Bulgarian citizens.

Omar’s brother Ahmad Zayed, living in Palestine, studied in Italy for years and sent a message to the demonstration in Italian, where it was read by activist Said Nassrawi.

In December 2015, the Israeli embassy in Sofia demanded Zayed be arrested by the Bulgarian police and sent to Tel Aviv for re-imprisonment. Though Bulgarian police raided his home, Zayed was not present; he is now taking refuge in the Palestinian embassy in Sofia.

The European Convention on Extradition addresses “criminal offenses” and specifically excludes political cases from its ambit; as noted by Sinn Fein parliamentarians, the National Lawyers Guild and others, Palestinian prisoners’ cases are inherently political. Protests in support of Zayed have taken place in Brussels, New York, London, Berlin, Ramallah, Gaza and more are planned in the future.

Ahmad Zayed’s message to the demonstration below, in English and Italian:

Dear comrades,

On behalf of my mother and all our family, I write to you from Palestine to tell you how happy and proud we are of you and of what you are doing to support the Palestinian cause, in general, and Omar’s case particularly.

I assure you that, Omar, from his refuge, knows what you are doing for him; he follows you proudly and he’s sure that with comrades like you by his side he shall be come out of this battle victorious and with his head held high.

Omar is not a criminal; he is a freedom fighter, he always has been, and he will continue to be forever.
Heartfelt thanks, with you at our side we will win.

Long live Palestine, long live solidarity.
Hasta la victoria siempre.

In the name of us all,
Ahmad

Cari compagni,

Nel nome di mia mamma e di tutta la nostra famiglia vi scrivo dalla Palestina per dirvi quanto siamo felici e orgogliosi di voi e di quello che state facendo sia per supportare la causa palestinese in genarle che quella di Omar in modo particolare.
Vi assicuro che, dal suo Refugio Omar è al corrente di quello che state facendo per lui e che vi sta seguendo con molto orgoglio ed è sempre più sicuro che con compagni come voi al suo fianco uscirà sicuramente vittorioso e a testa alta da questa battaglia.

Omar non è un criminale è un combattente per la libertà lo è sempre stato e lo sarà per sempre.

Grazie di cuore con vuoi al nostro fianco ce la faremo
Viva la Palestina
Viva la solidarietà
E hasta la victoria siempre
Nel nome di tutti noi
Ahmad

19 February, Paris: Film Screening and discussion, “L’affaire Salah Hamouri”

23 January 2016

Friday, 19 February
7:30 pm
Espace Paul Eluard – Stains
Place Marcel Pointet, 93380 Stains, Seine-Saint-Denis, Paris, France
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/218179591849789/

Free Admission

Film screening of the film, “L’affaire Salah Hamouri,” (“The Salah Hamouri affair”) and discussion with the director, Nadir Dendoune.

Nadir Dendoune is an independent journalist, who met Salah Hamouri beginning in 2012 shortly after he was released from prison. The French-Palestinian spent over seven years in Israeli prison. A French citizen and a resident of Jerusalem, Salah Hamouri faced an Israeli military trial, illegal in regard to international law.

The Israeli army accused him of intending to assassinate an ultra-orthodox rabbi and political leader and being a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). His story, unlike that of Gilad Shalit, the French-Israeli soldier, captured by Hamas in 2006, has received very little media attention in France.

Nadir Dendoune investigates with camera and microphone to try to understand why the case of Salah Hamouri has been little covered in the political sphere and media in France.

27 January, International: #Justice4Rasmea Social Media Campaign and Emergency Response Plan

23 January 2016

Wednesday, Jan. 27 Social Media Campaign

#Justice4Rasmea

Join the Rasmea Defense Committee for a social media campaign Wednesday, January 27th, in support of Palestinian American icon Rasmea Odeh—and prepare for an Emergency Response to the appellate court decision!

In October 2015, Rasmea’s legal team delivered oral arguments in an appeal of her unjust conviction for Unlawful Procurement of Naturalization. The decision is expected any day now, and we have to be prepared!

Participate on Twitter and Facebook on Wednesday, January 27th, using sample tweets, hashtags, articles, memes, and other resources that we will be sending to everyone on Monday. Rasmea has dedicated her life to the cause of a #FreePalestine and to Arab communities across the world, including the past 12 years in Chicago, so we must continue to organize to win #Justice4Rasmea.

In addition, although we are confident that we will win the appeal and have the conviction overturned, there is a chance—as we reported right before the end of 2015—that the appellate court will uphold the conviction, ruling in favor of the government. If that happens, it is very likely that Rasmea will be ordered to turn herself in to federal prison authorities, as we petition to keep her out on bail.

Emergency Response Plan

We have developed an Emergency Response Plan for this contingency!

If this worst-case scenario decision comes down BEFORE 12 NOON, and Rasmea is ordered to prison, we are calling for protests the VERY SAME DAY at 5 PM at federal buildings across the country.

If the decision comes down AFTER 12 NOON, we are calling for protests the NEXT DAY at 5 PM. Allies and supporters across the world will also be participating in the emergency response by protesting at U.S. consulates and embassies everywhere.

Please forward widely and look out for our follow up announcement early next week. Tell all your family, friends, and colleagues to be ready to join us on social mediaWednesday, January 27th, to demand #Justice4Rasmea!

Rasmea Defense Committee
January 22nd, 2016

22 January, Gellerup: Commemorate birthday of Palestinian child prisoner Ahmad Manasrah

21 January 2016

Friday, 22 January
7:00 pm
Foreningernes Hus
Gellerup, Denmark
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1080759091975989/

Danish and Palestinian activists in Denmark will commemorate the 14th birthday of Palestinian child prisoner Ahmad Manasrah on Friday, 22 January, gathering to discuss the situation of the hundreds of Palestinian children imprisoned in Israeli jails.

The event will include food and music and will fundraise to support the cause of freedom and justice for imprisoned Palestinian children.

This action follows a Monday demonstration in solidarity with Manasrah and fellow Palestinian prisoners, in which participants lit candles and called for UNICEF to act to seek freedom for Palestinian children.

Palestinian child Manasrah’s trial postponed until 16 February; actions in Denmark, Norway and Jordan urge his freedom

21 January 2016

13-year-old Palestinian child prisoner, Ahmad Manasrah, faced an Israeli military court on 19 January – where he was told that his trial was postponed to 16th February. The Free Ahmad Manasrah campaign noted that this postponenment almost certainly came to ensure that the trial would ensue after Ahmad reaches his 14th birthday on 22 January.

Manasrah, run over by an Israeli car and was severely injured as he was kicked and cursed at by Israeli occupation settlers and police – all captured on video – is now facing an Israeli military court. There are nearly 500 Palestinian children held in Israeli prisons, and over 2,200 children were arrested in 2015; some detained for a few days and some pushed into the military court and prison system. Even brief detentions have a real impact on Palestinian children who are interrogated, often taken from their home in night-time raids, threatened and abused.

International attention to Manasrah’s case is growing. The international Free Ahmad Manasrah campaign protested outside the UNICEF office in Amman, Jordan, calling on UNICEF to take a stand on Manasrah and other imprisoned Palestinian children.

In Aarhus, Denmark, Palaestina Aktion held a vigil and candle-lighting for Manasrah on 18 January, addressing UNICEF and calling for international action on his case and that of other imprisoned Palestinian children. In addition, Danish activists will gather on Friday, 22 January at 7:00 pm at Foreningernes House in Gellerup, to mark Manasrah’s birthday and highlight the struggle of Palestinian children.

In Bergen, Norway, activists gathered on 18 January in Torgalmennigen, urging freedom for Manasrah and all imprisoned Palestinian children. Activists also called for building the movement for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel, highlighting the injustice of Israeli occupation and imprisonment against the Palestinian people. Actions have also been organized in Bristol, London, New York City and elsewhere highlighting Manasrah’s case.

For more information, please visit the Free Ahmad Manasrah campaign.

Hunger striking journalist Al-Qeeq’s hearing delayed till February 25; lawyers warn of threat to his life

21 January 2016

The Israeli Supreme Court said on Tuesday that it would consider the appeal of Mohammed al-Qeeq, the imprisoned Palestinian journalist who has been on hunger strike for 58 days in protest of his administrative detention without charge or trial, on February 25 – earning outrage from lawyers and advocates, noting he could die of his hunger strike before that date.

Al-Qeeq, 33, is a correspondent for Al-Majd Channel; he is held with 660 other Palestinians under administrative detention, without charge or trial. He is married and a father of two.

On 10 January, he was forcibly treated in Afula hospital, when an intravenous glucose/vitamin solution was inserted into his vein while his hands and legs were restrained. The IV remained in place until 14 January. This forced treatment was condemned as a violation of medical ethics by Addameer, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, and other groups, who have noted that his condition is life-threatening.

Palestinian journalists went on a one-day hunger strike on Wednesday, and public employees conducted a one-day strike, in solidarity with Al-Qeeq, as the Arab League called for the release of the imprisoned journalist. Protests have continued inside and outside Palestine, demanding Al-Qeeq’s release. Reporters Without Borders has issued a statement about Al-Qeeq, “call[ing] on the Israeli authorities to free him and to ensure that their investigation is transparent and impartial.”

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network will protest to free Al-Qeeq and for the boycott of G4S, the multinational security corporation that provides security systems to Israeli prisons and checkpoints, on Friday, 22 January, at 4:00 pm in New York City.

Over 90 Palestinians arrested by occupation forces since Monday

21 January 2016

At least 90 Palestinians have been detained since Monday, 18 January, the majority in pre-dawn armed raids by Israeli occupation forces.

25 Palestinians were arrested on Thursday, 21 January, including two women from al-Aruj village east of Bethlehem – Rabaa al-Aruj and Fadda al-Aruj, the wife and mother of Ibrahim al-Arruj. They also detained Jaafar and Muhammad al-Arruj, Ibrahim’s brothers.

In Dheisheh refugee camp, occupation forces conducted a violent raid on the camp, firing stun grenades, tear gas and live bullets, and occupying homes in the camps. They stormed the family homes of Mufti al-Masri, 20, and Anas Abu Dayyeh, 21, ransacking their homes. The occupation forces met resistance from within the camp.

On Wednesday, 20 January, occupation forces detained 31 Palestinians, and on Tuesday, 19 January, they arrested 16 Palestinians, including storming the town of Yabad, near Jenin, raiding homes and distributing statements threatening retribution against local Palestinian youth.

On Monday, Israeli occupation forces arrested 32 Palestinians, including 13 from the town of Silwad and 11 from al-Khalil, including a young woman, Niveen Mohsen al-Jabari, 18.

These mass arrests came alongside the issuance, on Wednesday 20 January, 28 orders for administrative detention without charge or trial against Palestinians. There are currently over 660 Palestinians imprisoned in Israeli jails without charge or trial, and nearly 7,000 Palestinians held in Israeli jails total.

Palestinian prisoners plan to escalate protest against solitary confinement

21 January 2016

Reprinted from WAFA – Six Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails who have been held in solitary confinement have threatened to consider a set of measures in protest of their isolation, according to the Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs (CPA).

CPA attorney Sherine Iraqi told WAFA that the six isolated prisoners, Fares Saadi, Hassan Abu Khaizaran, Alex Mans, Majed Jumaa, Hussam Omar, and Mohammad Abu Rabeeaa, threatened to go on a hunger strike in protest of their unjustified solitary confinement.

The six prisoners told Iraqi, who was recently allowed to visit them, that after Israel reneged on its agreement in 2012 to end solitary confinement of Palestinian political prisoners, the prisoners are seriously mulling the possibility to embark on various protesting measures, including going on a hunger strike.

The six prisoners are also deprived of their right to family visitation, in addition to other humanitarian rights.

According to prisoners’ rights group, Solitary confinement is one of several practices enforced routinely inside of Israeli prisons, in addition to torture, forcible transfers, and medical negligence.

Adalah, a Haifa-based human rights group, says that “solitary confinement of Palestinian political prisoners who are classified as “security prisoners” is doubly harsh because of the restrictions imposed on their contacts outside of prison, even when they are not held in isolation.”

Addameer noted that, “Although rules exist under Israeli and international law to closely govern the use of solitary confinement and isolation, both measures are often used impermissibly and at great cost to Palestinian prisoners and detainees.”

“All types of solitary confinement in prison should end, given its severe impact on the physical and psychological health of prisoners,” Adalah adds.

“Solitary confinement constitutes cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment and thus violates the International Covenant Against Torture (CAT) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The Israel Medical Association and Ministry of Health should strongly oppose its use as a method of imprisonment.”

Detainees in solitary confinement are held in an empty cell containing only a mattress and a blanket, and rely on the Israeli Prison Service to address all other needs.

“Other than their clothes, they are not allowed to take anything with them into solitary confinement, including reading materials, a television or radio set. The detainee or prisoner is held in their solitary confinement cell, which does not contain a toilet, 24 hours a day. When the detainee or prisoner wishes to use the toilet he or she must call out for a guard and wait until one agrees to take the prisoner out,” said Addameer.

To be noted, “The UN Committee Against Torture has sharply criticized the prolonged solitary confinement of prisoners, regarding it as an act of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment (CIDT) that constitutes a violation of Article 11 of the CAT, which requires States parties to ensure systemic review of conditions of incarceration,18 and of Article 16, which obliges states to protect prisoners under their jurisdiction from CIDT.”

“The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has also stated that prolonged solitary confinement constituted a violation of Article 5(2) of the American Covenant on Human Rights, which prohibits torture and the inhuman treatment or cruel punishment of prisoners,” stated Adalah.

To be noted, there are 15 Palestinian prisoners currently held in solitary confinement

Addameer: Al-Qeeq has been forcibly treated and is in a life-threatening condition

20 January 2016

Ramallah – 18 January 2016 – Addameer confirms that the administrative detainee Journalist Mohammed al-Qeeq, who is on a hunger strike, has been forcibly treated (as opposed to force-fed) and is in a life-threatening condition. Al-Qeeq lost consciousness and was subsequently transferred to the Intensive Care Unit. Journalist al-Qeeq, who has been on hunger strike for 55 days, in a joint visit by Addameer and Physicians for Human Rights in the Afula Hospital on 18 January 2016, stated that on Friday 15 January 2016, he felt severe pain on the right side of his body, which resulted in his loss of consciousness. When he woke up, he found himself in the Intensive Care Unit at Afula hospital.

Al-Qeeq added that Ethical Medical Committee in the Afula hospital told him on Sunday 10 January 2016 that he would be forcibly treated, and later that day a group of jailers forcibly held his arms and legs, after which the doctors placed the IV in his vein, which was kept until Thursday 14 January 2016.

Al-Qeeq stated that some of the doctors pushed him to end his hunger strike, through attempting to convince him to consume Ensure, milk, and chocolate, but he refused. Addameer reaffirms that forced treatment of al-Qeeq and coerced medical examinations is a breach of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, as it constitutes an act that contravenes the human dignity of detainees and prisoners. Addameer also refers to the UN statement that: “The principle of an individual’s right to informed and voluntary refusal of medical measures is reiterated in several basic United Nations human rights documents where lack of free and informed consent is considered a clear violation of an individual’s right to health. ”[1]

Addameer affirms that there is no justification for using forced treatment or force-feeding of the hunger-striking administrative detainee al-Qeeq, taking into account the fact that he is fully aware of his decisions and fully understands his critical health condition. Al-Qeeq has refused to accept any medical treatment or examination, which means that any forced treatment without his consent could negatively affect his health condition and may put his life in danger, which has happened in precedent cases of force-feeding used by occupation forces during the Nafha prison hunger strike in 1980, which resulted in the death of numerous Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

Addameer calls for immediate action to save al-Qeeq’s life, who has been on hunger strike for 55 days in protest of his administrative detention without charge or trial. Al-Qeeq is in a life-threatening condition in Afula hospital and is refusing to take any food or supplements, including vitamins.

[1] “UN Joint Statement on new Israeli law on force-feeding of detainees,” 8 August 2015, Jerusalem. Available at http://www.emro.who.int/pse/palestine-news/un-joint-statement-on-new-israeli-law-on-force-feeding-of-detainees.html

Wednesday, Jan. 27 Social Media Campaign

#Justice4Rasmea

Emergency Response Plan

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