Detained PLC member refuses order to wear new orange prison uniform in Israel

Date: 30 / 04 / 2009 Time: 16:16

[Ma'anImages]

Gaza – Ma’an – Imprisoned member of the Palestinian Legislative Council Jamal At-Tirawi refused an order to wear a new orange prison uniform at the Jalbou’a prison starting on Saturday.

The Fatah bloc member has been detained since May 2007, and has had his appearance before a judge delayed 38 times. His trial is currently scheduled for 3 May.

A statement from At-Tirawi said the prison administration has ignored all requests to allow inmates to continue wearing street clothes provided by family members, a general rule that has prevailed in Israeli prisons since shortly after the outbreak of the second Intifadah.

Prisoners say the new dictate is meant to humiliate, and At-Tirawi accused the prison administration in Israel as “ignoring all international decisions in such cases while dealing with detainees.”

At-Tirawi noted that lawyers for several of the detainees have stepped in to prevent the move, but that Israeli prison guards prevented them from entering the meeting.

The prison administration has also threatened to close the prison canteen, where prisoners can buy food and basic writing supplies, as well as the clinic if prisoners refuse to wear the new uniforms.