Palestinian prisoners with illnesses continue to suffer in occupation jails

23 January 2014

Palestinian political prisoners with severe illnesses continue to suffer in occupation prisons, Palestinian lawyer Hanan al-Khatib reported.

Salahedin Ahmed al-Titi, of Arroub refugee camp, has been detained since 2013, held in Ramle hospital. He fell unconscious during Khatib’s visit and was taken to the clinic for urgent tests. He has suffered since birth with major stomach and intestinal issues for which he has undergone 10 surgical procedures. He continues to suffer from kidney and bladder problems.

Khatib reported that Titi has not received medication for his high blood pressure, he suffers from impaired vision and has difficulty standing.

She also reported that Thaer Halahleh, former long-term hunger striker who was re-arrested following his release, continues to suffer from poor health. Halahleh contracted Hepatitis C during a dental procedure at Ashkelon prison during his previous imprisonment.

Halahleh fell on multiple occasions on December 28 when he was transferred to Soroka hospital from the prison; he continues to have chronic fatigue as well as severe pain in his abdomen, back and kidneys. Halahleh is demanding that he be allowed to bring in a private doctor for his treatment. He is receiving critical treatment only and refusing painkillers.

The family of Mansour Moqtada renewed the call for his release. Moqtada uses a wheelchair and has an external artificial stomach and intestines following multiple surgeries. He was shot by Israeli occupation military forces during his arrest and continues to suffer from severe health consequences of that injury. He continues to be denied release by the Israeli military courts, despite spending nearly twelve years in prison and his serious physical injuries.

Administrative detainees plan to boycott military courts through March 2014

23 January 2014

The Higher Committee of Administrative Detainees announced a statement on Sunday, January 19, stating that administrative detainees will boycott the military courts until the end of March, 2014.

The statement, addressing supporters of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement, said that administrative detainees had been engaging in various protests since October 25, 2013, including boycotting the military courts, one-day hunger strikes, and other actions. Various negotiations have been held between the prisoners, lawyers, and the Israeli Prison Services.

Administrative detainees are held without charge or trial, for indefinitely renewable terms of up to six months. They are demanding an end to the process of detention without charge or trial.

The statement announced that they hope to receive concessions from the prison administration and the occupation security forces prior to the end of March 2014; they stated that if not, administrative detainees plan to engage in a mass hunger strike as well as a medicine strike in April 2014.

e a bit of time to study the crisis and results. Accordingly, the Commission decided the Supreme Administrative prisoner administrators in the prisons of the occupation comments steps not to go to court until the end March 2014 and added: “We hope to reach the desired results in terms of administrative detention Otherwise, the prisoners administrators will go to the mass strike for food and medicine in the month of April next year.

Ibrahim Hamed ends hunger strike in agreement

23 January 2014

Palestinian political prisoner Ibrahim Hamed launched a 3-day hunger strike that ended on January 16 with an agreement about his isolation in Israeli prisons.

Hamed, who is serving 57 life sentences, was moved to isolation on January 9, sparking protests in various prisons and strong concern among Palestinian prisoners that the policy of isolation, particularly used against leaders among Palestinian prisoners, would come back in full force. Hamed was one of 19 Palestinian leaders who was removed from isolation in May 2012 following the agreement ending the Karameh mass prisoners’ hunger strike.

The Palestine Center for Prisoners Studies reported that Hamed’s wife said that he had ended his hunger strike on the basis of an agreement between the leadership of Hamas prisoners in Israeli prisons and the Prison Service. He will be held in isolation until April 9.

Voice of Palestine Radio: Muath Abu Al-Qumssan on Freedom Weeks and Palestinian Prisoners

13 January 2014

Voice of Palestine radio has released a new interview with Muath Abu Alqumssan from the Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa’adat for Freedom Weeks. Muath, himself a former political prisoner, discusses the upcoming events to call for freedom for all Palestinian political prisoners, including Ahmad Sa’adat, and for an end to Palestinian Authority security cooperation with Israeli occupying forces.

Our final piece of music is by Palestinian American singer George Kurmoz entitled Ansar, after the infamous Ansar prisons maintained by Israel to incarcerate Palestinians. The song is dedicated to the Palestinian political prisoners, whose day of freedom and justice will surely come soon.

Click on this link to access a download of the show: http://www.voiceofpalestine.ca/?p=4225

Browse our archives for the past ten years on our homepage: http://www.voiceofpalestine.ca/

London, January 17: Protest G4S complicity in torture of Palestinian women

13 January 2014

PROTEST G4S COMPLICITY IN TORTURE OF PALESTINIAN WOMEN – FREE LENA AL-JARBONI

DATE: Friday 17th January 2014, 2pm – 4pm
LOCATION: G4S HQ, 105 Victoria Street (Closest public transport: Victoria Tube/Rail station)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/691875460844559/

PALESTINIAN WOMEN POLITICAL PRISONERS

We are launching a campaign to highlight the plight of Palestinian women in Israeli prisons, and specifically G4S complicity in their torture and suffering.

Currently there are 17 Palestinian women political prisoners in Israeli prisons. All but one is in HaSharon prison in Israel. The British private security contractor G4S provides the full security system at HaSharon including the central command room for the entire prison. The transfer of Palestinian prisoners from the occupied West Bank and Gaza to into Israel (to HaSharon Prison) is illegal under international law and constitutes a war crime, G4S is complicit in this by the services it provides to HaSharon Prison.

Before being brought to prison the women have to endure weeks, sometimes months, of torture at one of Israel’s interrogation centres to extract confessions from them – usually the infamous ‘Russian Compound’ in Jerusalem or the notorious Al-Jalame torture den – both these facilities are also secured by G4S.

The longest serving Palestinian women prisoner is Lena Al-Jarboni who has endured 11 years in HaSharon. The campaign will centre around her as an example of what Palestinian women have to endure and their resilience and steadfastness in the face of the occupation prisons.

LENA Al-JARBONI

Lena was born in 1974 to a Palestinian family near Acre in 1948 Palestine. Due to financial difficulty she could not complete her studies and worked in sewing workshops to help her family. In 2002 she was picked up by Israeli security. After 30 days of severe torture at Israels notorious G4S secured Al-Jalame torture den they charged her with “collaborating with the enemy” – she unlike her Palestinian friends has an Israeli citizenship. They sentenced her to 17 years in HaSharon women’s prison.

At HaSharon prison Palestinian women prisoners have to endure beatings, insults, threats, sexually explicit harassment and sexual violence, and humiliation at the hands of Israeli guards. Often they are forced to undergo degrading and intrusive body searches during the middle of the night for no reason other an as a punitive measure. Women have been beaten and left tied to their bed for a day and a half and not allowed to go to the toilet as punishment for spilling water. The cells at HaSharon prison are overcrowded, dirty and infected with rodents and cockroaches. There is a total absence of basic hygiene, women have even been denied sanitary pads when menstruating. The heat is unbearable, The windows are closed and covered so that hardly any air or daylight can enter. The food is insufficient, and of inferior quality & dirty, often containing insects & worms, at times there are not enough portions for all the women.

At HaSharon Lena became the spokeswoman for the other prisoners and converted the squalid rat infested cellars in to an area for prayer and education. She taught sewing classes and Quran. Due to medical negligence Lena can no longer walk and suffers from extreme pain in her stomach and constant migraines. The prison refused to transfer her to hospital for an essential cholecystectomy operation in time. It was only when all the women prisoners threatened to go on hunger strike that they finally allowed her the operation. She has never recovered and her condition is deteriorating. Having endured 11 years in HaSharon prison she is the longest serving Palestinian woman prisoner. She has 6 more years left of her sentence, in her condition it is very unlikely she can survive that. We are demanding her immediate release.

Please join us as we launch his campaign with a protest outside G4S HQ on Friday 17th January 2014 2pm-4pm.

We would like to thank the Palestinian Prisoners Center for Studies, and Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association for their help in this campaign.

LIVE UPDATES DURING PROTEST

We will, inshAllah, be tweeting live (hash tags #FreeLenaJarboni #G4S ) from the protest with live photos being uploaded to our twitter and facebook page. So if you can’t join us on the day, please help us by sharing the photos as they get uploaded.

https://www.facebook.com/inmindscom

https://twitter.com/InmindsCom

PLEASE HELP RAISE MONEY FOR THE HARES BOYS

On the day, as always, we will also be protesting for the immediate release of the Hares Boys.

One way those who cannot attend the protest can help is by helping raise money for the Hares Boys – five Palestinian children abducted from their homes in the village of Hares and caged in a hole in the ground and tortured until false confessions were extracted for stone throwing and are now facing possible life sentences. The aim is to raise as much as we can in 80 days (starting 30th Oct) to help all the 5 families to deal with the financial burden associated with having their children imprisoned. The children have already spent 10 months in an Israeli dungeon.

Israel is the only country in the world that charges prisoners for their imprisonment. They have to buy food, soap, toothpaste, and everything else for highly inflated prices in the prison shop, because the Apartheid state does not provide for the people it incarcerates. Not only are such policies designed to break the spirit of the imprisoned and their families – they also intend to ruin them financially. Its costs over 125 euros per month to provide for one child’s basic needs in prison.

The initial target of 2000 euros has been reached thanks to our French comrades, who raised a magnificent 1000 euros. The target was however kept low because of the way the fundraising works – if you don’t reach the target in 80 days all the money is returned and the families don’t get any of the money. So we still need people to contribute, every little helps. So far 2,822 euros have been raised with just 6 days remaining. Around 6% of the amount raised goes towards administrative and bank fees of namlebee – the hosts of the fundraising.

Please give generously, thank you.

http://www.namlebee.com/?np=proyecto&pro=27

Former hunger striker Imad Batran seized again by occupation forces

13 January 2014

Former Palestinian prisoner Imad Batran, who engaged in a 105-day hunger strike to protest administrative detention without charge or trial before his release last November 14, was seized once more by Israeli occupation forces on January 12.

According to the Palestine Center for Prisoners Studies, military forces stormed Batran’s home in Ethna village near Khalil, beat him and took him directly to Ashkelon prison.

Amina Tawil said that intelligence officers had threatened Batran a week
ago with re-arrest when he was called to interrogation by occupation military forces; she said that Batran had told his wife that he intended to engage in a hunger strike again if returned to administrative detention.

Batran had been held for two years without charge or trial before his release in November; he ended his hunger strike when occupation authorities pledged to not renew his detention. His brothers are also held in Israeli prisons: Tareq is serving a life sentence; his brother Mohammed is being held without charge or trial in administrative detention in Ashkelon.

Political prisoners plan protest if Hamed’s isolation not ended

13 January 2014

Fuad Khuffash, director of the Ahrar Centre for Prisoners Studies, said that the Palestinian prisoners’ movement has given the occupation prison services a deadline of Tuesday evening, January 14, for the release of Ibrahim Hamed from isolation. If Hamed is not removed from isolation, the prisoners will begin taking steps of escalating protest.

Khuffash said that there is great anger among prisoners about the isolation of Hamed, which was done on Thursday, January 9.

Riad al-Ashqar of the Palestine Centre for Prisoners Studies said that the prison authorities are transferring prisoners to solitary confinement in attempt to re-impose the policy of isolation which had been followed prior to the agreement ending the Karameh mass hunger strike in the prisons, which took place from April-May 2012.

Ashqar pointed out that dozens of prisoners had been held for lengthy periods of time in solitary confinement, a form of psychological torture. The end of the tragedy of isolation was a huge success of the prisoners’ strike. He said that the occupation has been trying for several months to gradually re-impose this policy through the transfer of prisoners to isolation cells for various periods of time.

Ibrahim Hamed, on Thursday, is the latest Palestinian political prisoner subject to this policy. However, he is not the first to be transferred to isolation. Nahar al-Saadi of Jenin has been isolated in Ramon prison for over 8 months. Saadi has been detained for 11 years and is sentenced to 4 life sentences plus 20 years. He is suffering from several diseases, including gallstones, kidney disease, and stomach ulcers.

Several Palestinian political prisoners have been transferred to isolation for periods of time under the pretext that they pose a danger to prison security or as punishment for an alleged violation of management decisions, or for a protest against repressive polices. Basem al-Khandakji, Fathi al-Khatib, Sameh Shobaki, Murad Nimer and Mohammed Mardawi have all been subject to this practice.

Ashqar called for human rights organizations to act and demand that the occupation cease this policy of solitary confinement of Palestinian political prisoners and prisoners of war, which is a form of torture. He stated that the prisoners will reject this policy and protest, because the prisoners cannot and will not accept the return of this policy.

PFLP prison branch responds to isolation of Hamed with call for action

11 January 2014

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine’s Prison Branch issued a statement on January 11 following the isolation of Ibrahim Hamed, calling on “Palestinian forces and factions to build a comprehensive and inclusive national framework to take up and lead the struggle on the ground to confront the occupation assaults against Palestinian prisoners and to activate all means to ensure their liberation.”

The statement said that “current conditions within the occupation prisons must inspire a serious escalation in the forms and methods of mass action in support of the prisoners. The prison administration continues to escalate its methods of repression and attack against the Palestinian political prisoners.”

“The occupation continues its policy of medical neglect of prisoners as a method of punishment and revenge, said the Front, and it is re-activating the policy of solitary confinement and isolation. The latest Palestinian prisoner subject to this policy is the leader Ibrahim Hamed of al-Qassam Brigades.”

Further, the statement said, “These actions come in addition to continuing crack-downs on prisoners’ families during visits, searching, harassing, and detaining them; the occupation has refused to improve the visit conditions for prisoners from Gaza and facilitate visits. Furthermore, occupation authorities are assaulting prisoners and planting surveillance cameras in Ramon prison.”

The PFLP prisoners’ statement concluded by saying that “that these practices of terror against the prisoners are a normal part of the ongoing policy of the occupation state against our people in general.” They called for international action in order to expose the crimes against prisoners and to hold occupation authorities accountable in international courts.

Ramon prison “potentially explosive” after raids and attacks on prisoners

11 January 2014

The situation at Ramon prison is potentially explosive at any moment, said Palestinian lawyer Rami al-Alami on January 11. Occupation prison administration continue to carry out raids, inspections of cells and sections of prisoners in light of the prisoners’ discovery of surveillance cameras planted in the walls of the cells.

Al-Alami said that this si the third consecutive week of brutal treatment of prisoners and harassing inspections accompanied by dogs and the attempted humiliation of prisoners.

Al-Alami reported that Palestinian political prisoner Shukri Abdul Salam reported that the “inspections” have included breaking electrical appliances, isolating prisoners in sections, forced strip searches and handcuffing, leading to clashes between prisoners and the intruding forces. The prisoners’ representative, Jamal Rajoub, has been isolated and several prisoners injured. Abdul Salam said that the situation may explode at any moment if the prison administration continues these steps.

He said that the prisoners began a gradual hunger strike on Saturday condemning the prison administration and that 49 petitions have been filed by prisoners about the assaults and destruction of personal property.

Meanwhile, on January 9, Israeli units stormed Palestinian prisoners’ sections in Ofer prison, reported Mohammed Abed of the Solidarity Foundation for Human Rights, who visited prisoners in Ofer.

He noted that an intense campaign of inspections claiming to be searching for mobile phones among the Palestinian prisoners has included confiscating and destroying prisoners’ personal belongings, including electrical appliances and collectibles.

Abed said that these inspections continue and that Palestinian political prisoners in Ofer are concerned that further attacks will continue in coming days.

Palestinian prisoners in Gilboa announced on January 10 that they will take steps to protest in solidarity with their comrades in Ramon prison following the vicious attack on prisoners there. In addition, prisoners in Gilboa donated 500 shekels of their salaries to support a relief campaign for Palestinian refugees in Yarmouk camp in Syria.

UPDATED: Ibrahim Hamed held in isolation, Israeli officials threaten prisoners with further isolation

11 January 2014

Reports that Palestinian political prisoner and senior Hamas leader Jamal Abu Al-Hija has been moved to isolation alongside Ibrahim Hamed are inaccurate, said Fouad al-Khuffash of the Ahrar Centre on January 12.

An Israeli intelligence officer stated that Abu al-Hija was in solitary confinement to a group of administrative detainees in the Negev prison, in an apparent attempt to intimidate and mislead the administrative detainees, who are planning escalating protest steps.

Ibrahim Hamed, a senior Hamas leader sentenced to 57 life sentences had been held in isolation prior to the conclusion of the Karameh hunger strike in May 2013; he was returned to general prisoners’ population following the agreement that ended the strike. He was transferred to isolation on Thursday, January 9.

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