Sa’adat transferred from Ramon to Gilboa Prison amid widespread transfers of Palestinian prisoners

6 May 2015

Imprisoned Palestinian leader Ahmad Sa’adat was transferred from Ramon to Gilboa prison on May 5 as part of a series of transfers aimed at disrupting prison organizing. Sa’adat, the General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, has been repeatedly transferred during his imprisonment.

Transfers are used to disrupt the social fabric and political organizing among Palestinian prisoners and are also inhumane and abusive in and of themselves; when Palestinian prisoners are transferred, the infamous “bosta” – a metal transport vehicle in which the prisoner is shackled to a metal chair in the back – is used. The bosta is not air conditioned, does not have open windows and reaches extremely high temperatures. It is a particularly dangerous experience for older or ill prisoners.

In addition to Sa’adat, Jamal Abu el-Hija, an imprisoned Hamas leader, was transferred from Eshel to Ramon prison, as was his son Imadeddine. Abu el-Hija and Sa’adat were two of the 19 prominent Palestinians held in solitary confinement for years whose isolation sparked the September 2011 and then the April 2012 Karameh mass hunger strikes, in which Israeli prison officials acceded to the demand to end the use of long-term isolation. Despite their agreement in 2012, the use of solitary confinement and isolation against Palestinian prisoners has been escalating, particularly since 2014.

80 Palestinian prisoners were transfered from Eshel to Nafha prison, with “inspections” given as a pretext, 6 from Megiddo prison to the Negev Prison.

May 14, New York City: Resistance and Detention

6 May 2015

Resistance and Detention: Featuring Lamis Deek, Alejandro Molina, and representatives of Rasmea Odeh
Thursday, May 14
6:00 pm
Hunter College, Hunter West 714, New York City
Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/698926610229462/

FROM PALESTINE TO PUERTO RICO: FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS!

Join Students for Justice in Palestine at Hunter College for our last event of the year – a panel discussion on political prisoners. With an emphasis on Palestinian and Puerto Rican political prisoners, we will be joined by speakers with experience and knowledge about struggles for liberation from prison.

Our panel includes:

– Lamis Deek, Palestinian-American human rights attorney and organizer based in New York City. She is co-founder of al-Awda, the National Right to Return Coalition. In addition, Lamis Deek has defended the right to protest, religious and civil freedoms, numerous student activists, while fighting surveillance and predatory prosecutions. She continues to expose injustices at home and abroad.

– Alejandro Molina, representative from the campaign to free Oscar López. Oscar López, a Puerto Rican-independence freedom fighter, was sentenced in the 1980s to 70 years in prison. He is currently incarcerated. López was offered conditional clemency by U.S. President Bill Clinton in 1999, but rejected the offer. His sister, Zenaida López, said he refused the offer because on parole, he would be in “prison outside prison.” López refused to negotiate terms of his release because of the unfair nature of the legal system.

– Representative from the campaign to free Rasmea Odeh. Rasmea Odeh, a well known Chicago-based feminist, anti-war, immigrant, and Palestine solidarity activist and organizer, was convicted of immigration fraud in November 2014 and sentenced in March 2015 to 18 months imprisonment, with deportation to follow her release. She is currently free on bail while seeking an appeal.

Due to legal restrictions, Rasmea Odeh cannot presently travel, but she is expected to call in or record a message.

Refreshments will be served. Room to be announced.

Khalida Jarrar’s administrative detention limited; imprisonment and military charges continue

5 May 2015

The administrative detention of Khalida Jarrar, imprisoned Palestinian parliamentarian and political leader, was officially limited on May 4 by Israeli military order, reported her lawyers with Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association on May 5. Jarrar remains imprisoned, charged before Israeli military courts with twelve purely political charges that include membership and leadership in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the left wing Palestinian party Jarrar represents through the Abu Ali Mustafa bloc in the Palestinian Legislative Council. Other of the charges include advocating for the release of Palestinian political prisoners and speaking at public events.

Israeli military officials have already stated their intention to continue to imprison Jarrar while she is tried on these political charges by an Israeli military court. Israeli military courts convict 99.74% of the Palestinians who appear before them and in no way meet international standards for a fair trial. Palestinians can be charged for violating any Israeli military order, including for membership in or “services to” “prohibited organizations,” which include all major Palestinian political parties. “Services” can include attendance at public events or calling for freedom for imprisoned Palestinians.

Administrative detention is imprisonment without charge or trial on the basis of secret evidence for indefinitely renewable one to six month periods. It is in violation of international law and human rights norms. 401 Palestinians have been issued administrative detention orders by the Israeli military so far in 2015.

“Whether Khalida Jarrar is being detained under administrative detention or for Israeli military trial, she is facing one framework of repression, racism and mass incarceration targeting Palestinian political life and expression. Both systems of detention are part and parcel of maintaining military control and occupation over the Palestinian people, and both are arbitrary forms of political detention and imprisonment that target Palestinian leaders and organizers,” said Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network.

The order was issued a day before a scheduled hearing on her administrative detention on May 6. Another scheduled hearing on April 29 at Ofer Military Court on the twelve charges against her was postponed as well with no action.

Addameer’s statement follows in full:

PLC Member Khalida Jarrar‘s administrative detention order limited, trial continues

Thursday 05 May 2015 – occupied Ramallah

This morning, the defense team of Palestinian Legislative Council Member Khalida Jarrar was made aware that her administrative detention military order was limited to end on 04 May 2015. The administrative detention lasted for one month and two days.

The decision by the military commander to limit her administrative detention order indicated specifically that shortening the order does not undermine other arrest orders against Mrs. Jarrar, suggesting that the prosecution will continue to request that she is remanded until the end of her on-going trial.

The cancellation of her administrative detention order does not prevent the military prosecution to use secret information against Mrs. Jarrar to justify her remaining in detention until the end of trial.

Mrs. Khalida Jarrar was arrested on Thursday, 2 April 2015 after a raid on her home in Ramallah and received a 6-month administrative detention order on Sunday, 5 April 2015. A list of charges was also issued against her on 15 April 2015. The twelve charges against her revolve around her role as a PLC member and political leader and for her campaigning for prisoners. Addameer considers the arrest of Mrs. Jarrar to be a political one, and calls for her immediate release.

Addameer also raises concerns about the health of Mrs. Jarrar in her continued detention. Medical tests have indicated that Mrs. Jarrar has multiple ischemic infarctions and hypercholesterolemia. Based on medical records from the Palestine Medical Complex, she has been admitted to hospitalization due to epistaxis where she was treated to stop continuous bleeding. She has also been previously treated for deep vein thrombosis numerous times.

Mrs. Jarrar has had a travel ban imposed on her movement since 1998, and she has only been permitted to travel on one occasion for medical treatment in 2010, following legal proceedings and diplomatic pressure.

Addameer’s position is that the prosecution’s recent actions confirm the political nature of Mrs. Jarrar’s arrest. The prosecution appears to be exhausting all legal procedures within its power to keep Mrs. Jarrar in detention. Addameer also affirms that this is a politically motivated arrest which contravenes international law, specifically the Fourth Geneva Convention, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, with regards to rights to political opinions and inherent civil rights.

Currently, Mrs. Jarrar is one of 12 PLC members held in detention, 6 of whom are held under administrative detention.

Khalida Jarrar is 52-years old and has been a Palestinian Legislative Council member since 2006. She also heads the subject of prisoner’s issues in the Palestinian Legislative Council, and is also deputy chairperson of the Board of Directors of Addameer.

Take Action to support Khalida Jarrar:

1. Click here: Send a message to the Israeli Occupation Forces and demand the immediate release of Khalida Jarrar.It is important that the occupation learns that Khalida has supporters around the world who will not be silent in the face of this injustice.

2. Sign the petition! Sign and share this petition, demanding freedom for Khalida Jarrar immediately.

3. Contact your Member of Parliament, Representative, or Member of European Parliament. The attack on Khalida is an attack on Palestinian parliamentary legitimacy and political expression. Parliamentarians have a responsibility to pressure Israel to cancel this order.

4. Send a letter to Khalida Jarrar – help support her and show her jailers that the world is with her!

5. Use the Campaign Resources to inform your community, parliamentarians and others about Khalida’s case.

6. Protest at the Israeli consulate or embassy for Khalida Jarrar. Bring posters and flyers about Khalida’s case and hold a protest, or join a protest with this important information. Hold a community event or discussion, or include Khalida’s case in your next event about Palestine and social justice.

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

Palestinian women prisoners denied family visits, isolated for raising Palestinian flag

5 May 2015

Six Palestinian women prisoners were prohibited family visits for one month for raising the Palestinian flag in HaSharon Prison on “Israeli Independence Day,” commemorating the dispossession of the Palestinian people and the establishment of the Israeli state on the land of Palestine, including Palestinian student and political prisoner Lina Khattab, imprisoned lawyer Shireen Issawi, Nahil Abu Aisha, Ihsan Dababseh, Haniyyeh Nassar, and Yasmin Shaaban.

Issawi, Abu Aisha, Dababseh, Nassar and Shaaban were then isolated in solitary confinement after they confronted prison administration about the prohibition of family visits. Denial of family visits and solitary confinement are two of the major forms of repression and targeting used by Israeli prison officials against Palestinian prisoners. The denial of family visits is a form of collective punishment, preventing mothers, fathers, spouses and children from accessing their loved ones and family members.

Solitary confinement is also frequently used as a means of control and repression inside Israeli prisons; the demand to end long-term isolation sparked the April 2012 Karameh mass hunger strike of thousands of Palestinian prisoners, which ended with an agreement to end the use of solitary confinement. Despite this agreement, Israeli prison officials continue to regularly use solitary confinement and isolation against Palestinian prisoners.

Brussels flashmob, Ha’aretz editorial join calls for freedom of Khalida Jarrar

26 April 2015

Activists in Brussels, Belgium organized a flashmob on Sunday, April 26, calling for freedom for imprisoned Palestinian parliamentarian, feminist, leftist leader and human rights defender Khalida Jarrar. Gathering at the Plaza Communale Molenbeek, activists with Intal, the Progressive Palestinian Youth, and the Palestinian community called for freedom for Jarrar and her fellow Palestinian political prisoners. Belgian lawyer Joke Callewaert, who observed Jarrar’s military court hearing April 15, spoke to the gathering about her observations of the injustice. Photos:

The action in Belgium came as Ha’aretz, the Israeli newspaper, featured a staff editorial calling for Jarrar’s release:

Jarrar’s parliamentary activities have focused on obtaining the release of Palestinian prisoners and the Palestinian application to join theInternational Criminal Court in The Hague. She was charged in an Israeli military court with 12 security offenses, including membership in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and incitement to abduct an Israeli soldier as a bargaining chip.

Even after the filing of the charges, it is difficult to escape the conclusion that Jarrar’s arrest was political in nature, meant as payback for her public activities regarding the ICC. The fact that she was charged with crimes only after the international protest reinforces this suspicion. Judging by all the evidence, including the indictment, Jarrar is not a terrorist. She is a nonviolent and determined activist who is working to liberate her people from the occupation. Israel has no right to punish her for that.

The Ha’aretz editorial followed a lengthy interview with Ghassan Jarrar, Khalida’s husband, by Gideon Levy and Alex Levac, on April 24:

Ghassan Jarrar didn’t remember whether Khalida took her medications with her. When dozens of Israel Defense Forces soldiers came in the middle of the night to arrest her on April 2, and he was agitated by the thought that his wife, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, would be taken from him – he forgot to check if she had taken her medicines. Now he has been told she is receiving them at the prison.

The Jarrars have been together for 35 years, ever since they met as students at Bir Zeit University, and his love for her is evident to this day. He even named his new factory for children’s furniture after her and their two daughters: “Sky” is an acronym for Suha, Khalida and Yifaa.

The two daughters, incidentally, are currently in Ottawa, Canada, where they are pursuing their doctorates, Yifaa in law and Suha in environmental studies. They are also devoting their time to the international campaign for their mother’s release from an Israeli prison.

Also on April 24, a new site focusing specifically on the campaign to free Khalida Jarrar was launched, at http://freekhalidajarrar.org. The Samidoun site, https://samidoun.net/khalidajarrar, will also continue to be regularly updated with breaking news and updates.

46 more Palestinians ordered to administrative detention without charge or trial

23 April 2015

Israeli military occupation authorities issued administrative detention orders for imprisonment without charge or trial against 41 Palestinian prisoners, including 26 Palestinians from Hebron district on Tuesday, April 21, according to the Palestine Prisoners’ Society. These followed on 5 prisoners sent to administrative detention on Sunday, April 19.

The detainees were sentenced for a period ranging between two months and six months, with twelve of the detainees receiving detention orders without charge or trial for the first time, whereas the remaining 29 detainees had their administrative detention sentence renewed for the second or third time.

Administrative detention is the imprisonment of Palestinians without charge or trial and on the basis of secret evidence for up to six month periods, indefinitely renewable by Israeli military courts.

The use of administrative detention dates from the “emergency laws” of the British colonial era in Palestine. Israel’s use of administrative detention violates international law; such detention is allowed only in individual circumstances that are exceptionally compelling for “imperative reasons of security.”

There are around 500 detainees serving administrative detention in several Israeli jails, including Palestinian Legislative Council member Khalida Jarrar who has been recently sentenced to 6 months of administrative detention, and 8 other PLC members.

WAFA Palestinian News & Info Agency has provided the names of the 41 detainees who received administrative detention orders:

1. Mahmoud Fasfous, of Hebron, 4 months
2. Abdullah Sha’aban, of Jenin, 4 months
3. Amir Shammas, of Hebron, 4 months.
4. Nour Dudin, of Hebron, 4 months
5. Bajes Swaiti, of Hebron, 4 months
6. Raed al-Amla, of Hebron, 6 months
7. Murad Shqaiqat, of Jenin, 4 months
8. Mustafa Braija, of Bethlehem, 6 months
9. Muhammad al-Habal, of Tubas, 4 months
10. Ahmad al-Qiq, of Hebron, 3 monhts
11. Hasan Shihada, of Abu Dis, 4 months
12. Tareq Hamed, of Ramallah, 4 months
13. Suhaib Jidan, of Ramallah, 4 months
14. Ayman Za’aqiq, of Hebron, 6 months
15. Nour Jaffal, of Abu Dis, 4 months
16. Nedal al-Boum, of Nablus, 6 months
17. Muhammad Abu Ras, of Hebron, 6 months
18. Said al-Asafra, of Hebron, 5 months
19. Sufian al-Wahaddin, of Hebron, 4 months
20. Fawzi Talahma, of Hebron, 6 months
21. Issa Awawda, of Hebron, 4 months
22. Bashar Da’na, of Hebron, 6 months
23. Anas Dweik, of Hebron, 6 months
24. Ismail Slaibi, of Hebron, 6 months
25. Ala’a Za’aqiq, of Hebron, 6 months
26. Abdul-Qader Sharawna, of Hebron, 4 months
27. Nedal Jaber, of Qalqilya, 6 months
28. Munther Abu Atwan, of Hebron, 4 months
29. Firas Masalama, of Hebron, 4 months
30. Abdullah Bani Odeh, of Nablus, 4 months
31. Arqam Ahmaro, of Hebron, 3 months
32. Muhammad al-Khatib, of Hebron, 4 months
33. Imad Isma’il, of Ramallah, 4 months
34. Shaher Abu Ghalyoun, of Hebron, 4 months
35. Ahmad Huraimi, of Bethlehem, 4 months
36. Mustafa Shawer, of Hebron, 2 months
37. Mahmoud Ayyash, of Ramallah, 4 months
38. As’ad Imam, of Hebron, 4 months
39. Raed Sharbati, of Hebron, 4 months
40. Muhammad Abu Ghalya, of Jerusalem, 5 months
41. Tamer Qawasmah, of Hebron, 4 months

These 41 orders followed 5 more issued on Sunday, April 19 from the military court at Ofer:

1. Abd al-Rahman Hammad, of Qalandia refugee camp, 6 monhts
2. Osama Ida’is, of Hebron, 6 months
3. Joma’a al-Jojo, of Bethlehem, 4 months
4. Ahmad al-Hrimi, of Bethlehem, 4 months
5. Ahmad al-Rai, of Qalqilia, 2 months

Palestinian child prisoners fined $30,000 since beginning of 2015

23 April 2015

The International Middle East Media Center reported Monday that over $30,000 USD (NIS 120,000) in fines have been imposed on child prisoners just since the beginning of 2015. 6

Abd al-Fattah Dawla, a representative of Palestinian child prisoners in Ofer, told a Palestinian lawyer from the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society that NIS 120,000 in fines have been imposed since the beginning of the year. 34 Palestinian children and teens under 18 were arrested in January, 29 in February, and 23 in March through April so far. He also noted that there are 24 sick child prisoners in Ofer, including Mohammad Blasi with severe infections and Yazan Jawabreh, who has asthma.

On January 19, a lawyer of the Detainees and Ex-detainees Affairs Committee reported that Palestinian minor prisoners incarcerated in Israeli jails are subjected to physical torture during their arrest and interrogation as well as in detention.

“By the end of January 2014, it was reported that a total of 183 Palestinian children were prosecuted and detained in the Israeli court system, a rise of 18.8% over the month. The figure includes twenty children between the ages of 14 and 15,” reported the Middle East Monitor in news story.

“Around 500 – 700 Palestinian children, some as young as 12, are arrested, detained and prosecuted in the Israeli military detention system each year. The majority of Palestinian child detainees are charged with throwing stones. No Israeli children come into contact with the military court system,” said Defense for Children International (DCI).

“Despite international condemnation and awareness of Israel’s widespread and systematic ill-treatment of Palestinian child prisoners, there have been no practical steps taken to curb violations,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, Accountability Program director at DCI-Palestine. “The international community must demand justice and accountability.”

Israel is the only state to systematically prosecute children in military courts that lack basic standards of due process. Addameer human rights group says most of the detained children report being subjected to ill-treatment and having confessions extracted from them during interrogations.

Forms of ill-treatment used by Israeli soldiers include slapping, beating, kicking, violent pushing, threats and even sexual assault.

A study conducted by Defense for Children International (DCI) in the occupied Palestine territories showed that Palestinian children in Israeli prisons are being subjected to torture, sleep deprivation and are repeatedly blindfolded.

DCI reported that, “In 21.4% of cases, Israeli military, police and security agents held children in solitary confinement for an average of 10 days for interrogation purposes.”

In 96% of cases documented by DCI-Palestine in 2013, children were questioned alone and rarely informed of their rights, particularly their right against self-incrimination.

DCI stated, “The interrogation techniques are generally mentally and physically coercive, frequently incorporating a mix of intimidation, threats and physical violence with a clear purpose of obtaining a confession. More than one in five of the 2013 cases, children signed statements in Hebrew, a language they do not understand.”

DCI reported that, “Military detention is a reality for hundreds of Palestinian children each year, exposing them to physical and psychological violence, interrupting education, contributing to mental health issues, and placing large numbers of families under stress. This continued to be the case in 2014.”

Hares Boys to face military court appearances in the coming month

23 April 2015

The Hares Boys, five Palestinian teens who have now been imprisoned for over 2 years and one month, who are facing an Israeli military court because of a settler car accident, will be facing court dates in the coming month:

Ali Shamlawi 30 April
Mohammed Kleib 12 May
Ammar Souf, Mohammed Suleiman 20 May
Tamer Souf TBC

The international Campaign to Free the Hares Boys is urging internationals in Palestine who carry foreign passports to attend the military court hearings in Salem. If you are not in Palestine please contact your embassy and ask that they attend on your behalf. You can also inquire if your state – via its foreign representative the embassy – cares about human rights and children’s rights in particular.

The Hares Boys are five Palestinian teens from the West Bank village of Hares. After a settler had a car accident on a settler only road near the village, despite the involved drivers’ own initial statements of other causes, the Israeli occupation forces invaded the village and arrested 19 boys in repeated violent raids on the village, accusing them of throwing stones and causing the accident. There were no witnesses to the car accident and no one has stated that they saw any Palestinian children throwing stones that day. Nonetheless, teen boys, all under 18, were arrested, interrogated, kept in solitary confinement in tiny cells for up to two weeks and denied lawyers.

Now, five of these boys are being charged with 20 counts of “attempted murder,” one for each allegedly thrown stone. There is an international campaign to support these Palestinian teens, facing an Israeli military court and its injustice to Palestinians and having suffered 2 years of imprisonment.

Corporate Watch issues new resource on corporate complicity in Palestinian prisoners’ mistreatment and abuse

23 April 2015

Corporate Watch has issued a new booklet resource, Imprisoned Voices, on the role of G4S and Hewlett Packard in the institutional and systematic mistreatment and abuse of Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails.

The authors of the report. Tom Anderson and Therezia Cooper, interview former Palestinian prisoners and their family members from the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem, including Salah Hamouri, Shireen Khudairi, and nine more Palestinian prisoners.

The experiences of sick Palestinian prisoners – including denial of access to medication and treatment, being provided only painkillers for serious medical issues, and the role of Israeli prison doctors in enforcing repression against prisoners – are highlighted in the report, as are the experiences of torture and abuse suffered by Palestinians in G4S and Hewlett Packard-serviced Israeli prisons.

Fatima al-Zak, a former Palestinian prisoner from Gaza, discussed her experience of pregnancy and childbirth while imprisoned – including being denied the right to breastfeed her son, being shackled at prenatal appointments, and her newborn son being denied access to either formula brought in or her breastmilk.

One former prisoner, Akram, discussed the lack of access to medical care in Ramle prison hospital and its highly automated system that surveils prisoners without providing medical attention. In particular, he highlighted the case of Moatassem Raddad whose treatment for intestinal cancer has been delayed for years.

Corporate Watch also discussed the experiences of Palestinians imprisoned for Facebook advocacy for Palestinian prisoners, and imprisoned, interrogated, fined and abused for membership in, support for or contact with Palestinian political parties.

The report details the involvement, responsibility and complicity of multinational corporations G4S and Hewlett Packard in these abuses, providing information on ongoing boycott campaigns and serving as an invaluable resource for campaigners.

Click here to read the report, or see below. Corporate Watch will be making print copies of the report available for order soon on its website.

May 30-31, Berlin: Conference on Palestinian Prisoners and Detainees

22 April 2015

The second Conference of the European Alliance in Defence of Palestinian Detainees will be held from May 30th – 31th 2015. It will take place at :

1 Franz-Mehring-Platz, 10243 Berlin, Germany

Dr. Khaled al-Hamad, general coordinator of the European Alliance, stressed that the conference will hold several panels dealing with different issues concerning the detainees such as child-detainees, women in detention, administrative detention and ways and possibilities to officially intervene with the authorities of the occupation. The panels will be held in English and Arabic.

Organizers have also decided to start preparations for a cultural section and to take all steps neccessary for the planned exhibition “candles of freedom” which will last one week.

Organizers called upon all national, islamic and national media forces to support this conference in order it be a success.

The conference will integrate the relatives of the prisoners and on their top their leader Marwan al-Barghouthi, comrade Ahmad Sa´dat, Samir al-Issawi, Karim Younis, Amir Makhoul, as well as Umar and Aballah al-Barghouthi.

Further preparations would be taken care of in cooperation with the following organizations: Committee of Expatriates in the PLO, The Committee of Freed Detainees, Club of the Palestinian Detainee, the non-governemental organizations Addameer and Hurriyat, The Abu Jihad al-Wazeer Centre, The Centre for Education and Treatment of Victims of Torture, The Global Movement for the Protection of Children, Al-Haq Organziation and The Higher Committee for the Affairs of Freed Detainees.

Coordination of the European Alliance in Defence of Palestinian Detainees

All interested parties are asked to register at the following E-Mail address:

asrafalastin@web.de

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-European-Alliance-in-Defence-of-Palestinian-Detainees/590907887618242

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