Release of 3 prisoners delayed by Israeli authorities

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- Israeli prison authorities are delaying the release of three prisoners from Gaza who have completed their sentences.

The director of a prisoner's assembly, Muhammad Badr, on Friday named Abdullah Tawfiq al-Kurd, Wael Mousa Sharbaji and Wade Khamis Tamman as the prisoners who have had their release postponed.

Both al-Kurd and Sharbaji have finished their sentences of 9 and 7 years, respectively, and should have been released a month ago, Badr said.

Tamman, 30, has spent 10 years in jail and suffers from epilepsy.

Badr called on human rights organizations to help work for the release of all sick prisoners and put an end to violations by Israel.

It is not known why the release of the prisoners has been delayed.

Hamas leader freed in mass prisoner release

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- Israel moved Thursday to free 770 Israeli and Palestinian detainees, including a senior leader of Hamas, prison and Palestinian Authority officials said.

Israel prisons spokeswoman Sivan Weizman said the prisoners, among them 200 Palestinians, had almost completed their terms and were released due to overcrowding.

Hassan Yousef, a West Bank leader of the Hamas movement, was released despite having six weeks remaining of a six-year term for "membership of a terrorist organization."

After his release, Yousef told Ma’an the prisoners carried one message: The need to implement a unity deal and carry out the terms of the Cairo agreement in order to confront the occupation.

Yousef said the situation in the prisons is difficult due to recent restrictions.

“There are 40 detainees in solitary confinement, most of them are Hamas,” he said in an interview with Ma'an.

The Hamas leader stated that he does not support the September bid for Palestinian statehood at the UN.

"We don’t believe that this step is useful and won’t add anything except a few more UN resolutions," Yousef told Ma'an.

Rather, "we need practical resolutions that end the occupation," he said.

Negotiations over a prisoner swap deal with Israel for captured soldier Gilad Shalit only stopped one month ago, Yousef added, noting that he also participated in swap talks and it is Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu who is delaying the process.

He also hopes that the current demonstrations in Israel over housing prices can help to stop the Israeli government’s racist policies against Palestinians.

The Head of Gaza's Prison Ministry Riyad Al-Ashqar said a large number of prisoners were released Thursday because Israel was delaying the release of dozens of detainees who had completed their sentences.

Among them are more than 70 prisoners from the Negev jail alone, including 16 prisoners from Gaza. Mahmoud Al-Sherif was detained in April and scheduled for release in June, for example.

The ministry noted that all the prisoners had completed their sentences, so the mass release should not be interpreted as a sign that Hamas and Israel reached a deal to exchange a soldier captured in 2006.

In Ramallah, Deputy Prisoners Minister Ziad Abu Ain said the Palestinians were expecting "around 70 prisoners who have finished their terms of Israeli jails" but had no additional details.

The Center for Defense of Liberties and Civil Rights reported on Thursday that a member of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine was also freed as part of the prisoner release.

Sufyan Abed Al-Halim Barakat, 40, had spent nine years in Israeli detention after being arrested for affiliation with the armed wing of the DFLP.

According to figures released by Israeli rights group B'tselem in April, there are 5,380 Palestinians being held in Israeli jails, 217 of whom were under 18.

AFP contributed to this report.

Family says Israeli jailers poured boiling oil on its son

[ 17/05/2011 - 12:25 PM ]

NABLUS, (PIC)-- A Palestinian family said its son, Raf'at Bani Odeh, was exposed by Israeli jailers to excruciating physical and psychological torture at the time of his six-year detention. The family added that its son spent most of his imprisonment term in solitary confinement and boiling oil was once poured on him by Israeli interrogators, so he suffers from serious physical and psychological scars as a result of that. The family also appealed to all concerned parties to provide its son with appropriate medical treatment for his condition. The Palestinian prisoner society also confirmed that Bani Odeh suffers from serious mental problems a result of his exposure to torture and medical neglect in prison and thus he is in dire need of urgent treatment. In another incident, the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) on Monday released two prisoners affiliated with Hamas, Atef Hassan and Saad Yazji after it procrastinated over their release for a long time. Both prisoner completed their prison terms a long time ago, but the IOA delayed their release twice once at the pretext of Jewish festivals and the second time without any reason.

Israel postpones release of 3 Gaza prisoners

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israel postponed the release of three Gaza men from prison was without explanation, a prisoners support center in Gaza City told Ma'an on Monday.

The men were due for release on Sunday, but were instead transferred from the Negev prison to the Ashkelon prison, a statement said.

Atif Ata Muhammad Hassan from the central Gaza Strip has served 18 years, while Ahmad Jalal Ahmad Hussein from Rafah and Sa’d Khalil Rajab Al-Yaziji from Gaza City have both completed 7-year sentences.

Officials at the prisoners' support center said the release may have postponed due to widespread protests on Sunday as Palestinians marked the 63rd anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba of 1948.

Rallies on Sunday commemorated the expulsion of 760,000 Palestinians from their homes during fighting that came alongside the creation of the state of Israel.

Nakba Day marks the dispossession of those refugees, and the continued demand for their right to return. According to UN statistics, Gaza's population is three-quarters refugees.

Israel extends detention of Palestinian without charge or trial

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli authorities on Monday renewed the administrative detention of a 29-year-old prisoner from Gaza, the Hussam detainees' society said.

Raed Abu Mughsib was sentenced to six years imprisonment in 2003, but he was not released after serving the sentence.

Israeli authorities have held him in administrative detention - without trial or charge - since 2009.

The Hussam center called for Abu Mughsib's immediate release.

The Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem has recorded thousands of cases of administrative detention in which Palestinians have been detained "for prolonged periods of time, without prosecuting them, without informing them of the charges against them, and without allowing them or their attorneys to study the evidence."

Israeli military officials can hold detainees in administrative detention for up to six months, but the term is indefinitely renewable.

Detainees can spend years in Israeli prisons without ever knowing what they are accused of. Their lawyers are not told what the charges are, undermining their ability to defend their clients.

"In practice, Israel breaches international law, while misusing the powers given to military commanders in the Administrative Detention Order," B'Tselem says.

Israel delays Gaza prisoners release

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Five Gaza prisoners are expected to be released by Israeli authorities Wednesday, with two others' release delayed for several days, having all finished Israeli jail terms.

Gaza government Minister of Prisoners Affairs, Riyad Al-Ashqar, said the two "were supposed to be released last week, but the Israeli authorities have delayed their release for several days without giving reasons."

The five released prisoners would be met by family and friends at the Erez crossing, the official added.

The five were identified as:
- Abed Al-Hamid Atallah Al-A'kerm, from Rafah, who served seven years having been arrested on July 8, 2004.
- Ahmad Salem Hamdan Al-Qara, from Rafah, who served three years, having been arrested on May 17, 2008.
- Munir Anwar Nemir Abed Ar-Rahman, from Gaza City, who served two years, having been arrested on April 4, 2009.
- Munir Ali Omer Al-A'ssar, from central Gaza who served six years, having been arrested on June 12, 2006.
- Ibrahim Jamal Mohammad Al-Majdub from Gaza, who served five years, having been arrested on June 12, 2006.

The two whose release was delayed were identified as:
- Hesham Atallah Saeeed Atallah, from central Gaza, who served six and a half years, having been arrested on December 30, 2004.
- Omer Salem A'tawa Khattab, from central Gaza, who served seven years, having been arrested on July 7, 2004.

Al-Ashqar noted that 689 prisoners from Gaza remain in Israeli jails.

Israeli military court extends jail term for Palestinian anti-wall activist

Amnesty International 

11 January 2011

Amnesty International has condemned an Israeli military appeal court's decision to extend the prison sentence of a Palestinian non-violent activist, convicted over his involvement in organizing protests in the occupied West Bank.

Abdallah Abu Rahma, head of the Popular Committee Against the Wall in the West Bank village of Bil'in, had his sentence extended from 12 months to 16 months by the Israeli Military Court of Appeals at Ofer in the West Bank on Tuesday, after the prosecution argued that his initial sentence was too lenient.

Detained since December 2009, Abdallah Abu Rahma, a school teacher, was supposed to be released on 18 November 2010, but has been kept in detention at the military prosecution's request. He has now been in prison for 13 months.

"By extending Abdallah Abu Rahma's sentence the Israeli authorities appear to be seeking not only to punish him further in a case where the prosecution’s evidence was questionable to begin with, but to deter others from participating in legitimate protests," said
Philip Luther, Amnesty International's Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

"Amnesty International believes Abdallah Abu Rahma to be a prisoner of conscience, jailed solely for the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression and assembly. As such we call for his immediate and unconditional release."

Abdallah Abu Rahma was found guilty of "organizing and participating in an illegal demonstration" and "incitement" by an Israeli military court on 24 August 2010. He was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment on 11 October 2010.

Following the extension of his sentence, he will now serve an additional three months in prison, with the possibility of an administrative release after two months, in which case he would be forbidden from participating in any demonstrations.

When convicting Abdallah Abu Rahma the military judge accepted the prosecution’s arguments that he had encouraged demonstrators in Bil’in to throw stones at Israeli soldiers.

The allegations were based on the statements of three children, who subsequently retracted them in court, claiming that they were made under duress.

Abdallah Abu Rahma is well known to Amnesty International as a political activist with a long-term public commitment to using peaceful means to raise international awareness of the human rights violations suffered by Palestinians because of Israel's fence/wall, much of which has been built in the occupied West Bank.

Since 2005, the villagers of Bil'in, together with Palestinian, Israeli and international supporters, have been holding weekly demonstrations in protest against the fence/wall and the confiscation of their land by the Israeli authorities for its construction.

In September 2007 the Israeli High Court of Justice issued a ruling instructing the Israeli military authorities to reroute the fence/wall in Bil’in to give the villagers access to more of their land, but this ruling has yet to be implemented.

The arrests of Abdallah Abu Rahma and other prominent activists against the fence/wall in 2010 have been part of a crackdown on those voicing their opposition to the construction of the fence/wall.

The Israeli 700-kilometre fence/wall runs through the West Bank, encircling Palestinian villages as well as whole neighbourhoods in and around East Jerusalem.

Palestinians in the West Bank are subjected to Israeli military laws including Order No. 101, “Order Regarding Prohibition of Incitement and Hostile Propaganda Actions”, which was issued shortly after the beginning of the Israeli occupation in 1967 and carries a maximum 10-year sentence.

The order enables sweeping restrictions to be placed on freedom of expression, requiring any proposed gathering of 10 or more persons “for a political purpose of for a matter that could be interpreted as political” or even to “to discuss such a topic” to obtain a permit in advance from the commander of the Israeli military forces in the area.

Since 2010 charges under Order No. 101 have been used increasingly by the Israeli authorities against Palestinians who organize demonstrations against Israel’s fence/wall.

Bil'in demonstrations coordinator sentenced to 16 months in prison

[ 12/01/2011 - 10:33 AM ]

RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- Abdullah Abu Rahma, coordinator of the Bil'in anti-separation wall committee, was sentenced on Tuesday to 16 months in prison other than a three-year suspended sentence and was forced to pay NIS 5,000 in fines. The Israeli Ofer Court charged Abu Rahma with incitement and participation in throwing stones at Israeli soldiers, as well as participation in allegedly "illegal demonstrations". Abu Rahma was previously sentenced to a year in jail but was kept prisoner by the military prosecutor after his scheduled mid-November, 2010 release because of continued weekly protests in the Bil'in village. 24 European diplomats attended the court hearing. In a separate development, prisoner Hamza Mahmoud Ali al-Khumoor of the Bethlehem refugee camp of Al-Duhaisha has gone on his 11th day of hunger strike, prison sources said. Khumoor, arrested in April 2002 and serving an 18-year sentence, went on strike after he was placed in solitary confinement after striking a prison guard in self-defense during a heated prison search.

Hearing Begins In Case Of Palestinian Non-violent Protest Organizer

Wednesday December 08, 2010 06:59 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News

Abdullah Abu Rahme was brought to an Israeli court Monday, after completing a one year prison sentence for 'incitement' due to his role organizing non-violent weekly demonstrations against the Wall. Israeli authorities are attempting to extend his sentence indefinitely without charges, a policy known as 'administrative detention', which is considered a violation of international law, but is common practice by Israeli military courts.

Supporters hold up signs outside Ofer military base (photo by Marcy Newman)

The courtroom was packed with Abu Rahme's supporters, including a number of European politicians, members of the European Union and British consul general, Vincent Fean. South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu has spoken out on the case, publishing a letter supporting Abu Rahme and condemning his imprisonment, calling it an example of apartheid-like practices by Israel.

39-year old Abdullah Abu Rahme is a schoolteacher from the town of Bil'in, in the central West Bank, who joined with other town leaders to organize a non-violent resistance movement when Israel began construction of the Wall in 2004 on village land, confiscating half of the village's land.

Their weekly protests include singing, street theater, puppetry and art, and include Israeli and international peace activists. Israeli troops, every week, attack the marches with experimental CS gas, sewage water, blue dye, rubber-coated steel bullets, and other so-called 'non-lethal' experimental weapons. Over twenty protesters have been killed in non-violent demonstrations in Bil'in and other villages, half of them children. Dozens more have been wounded, including international supporters like Nobel laureate Mairead Maguire and U.S. peace activist Tristan Anderson.

Originally, Abu Rahme had been charged with 'possession of a weapon', for an art display he had made out of spent tear gas canisters fired by Israeli troops at demonstrators, shaping them into a peace sign. Those charges were eventually dropped, but he was charged with 'incitement', and has served a year in prison for that charge.

Israeli officials say they want to keep Abu Rahme in prison for unspecified 'security concerns', despite their failure to present any evidence against him. Abu Rahme's lawyer, Gaby Lasky, told reporters that she believes the arrest and imprisonment of Abu Rahme is politically motivated. She said, "Since the state has not been able to break the nonviolent demonstrations (by force), it has decided to break them in legal terms, trying to keep the leaders behind bars.”

In addition to the non-violent demonstrations, Abu Rahme also helped organize a lawsuit challenging the route of the Wall, which confiscates half of the village's land. The lawsuit was successful, but Israel has not enforced the ruling, and the Wall has continued to be constructed through the middle of Bil'in's land.

Report: “280 Palestinians, Including 43 Children and Three Women, Kidnapped In November”

Sunday December 05, 2010 04:35 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News

The Higher Committee for Supporting the Detainees stated that Israeli soldiers kidnapped in November 280 Palestinians, including 43 children and three women, in several areas in the occupied West Bank and in occupied East Jerusalem.

Two of the kidnapped residents are elected members of the Palestinian Legislative Council. The two are Nayef Rajoub from Hebron, and Mahmoud Al Ramahi from Ramallah.

The Committee stated that soldiers kidnapped a 55-year-old woman identified as Shaheera Borqan, from Hebron. It considered the kidnapping of Borqan as an Israeli illegal policy meant to blackmail her two detained sons.

Furthermore, soldiers kidnapped Abdul-Qader Masalma, 45, from Hebron, despite the fact the he is paralyzed due to extreme torture practiced by Israeli interrogators during a previous arrest; he spent seven years in prison.

Last month, soldiers released legislator Ayman Daraghma after he spent 20 months in administrative detention without charges or trial.

In related news, soldiers broke into the Al Ramla Prison Hospital, were 25 detainees are hospitalized, and searched it under the guise of searching for communication equipment.

Also, soldiers violently attacked and hit detainee Somoud Karaja, leaving her suffering from several bruises and concussions.

Referring to the health conditions of several sick detainees, the report revealed that detainee Mohammad Al Saleeby, 62, had to be transferred from Majiddo Prison to the Al Affoula hospital due to the seriousness of his condition.

Detainee Imad Al Masry, from Aqaba town near Jenin, is in urgent need for medical
attention as he suffers a kidney disease, sharp pain in his spine, right hand and teeth. The prison Administration is denying him the right to medical treatment.
Several detainees contracted a skin disease in a number of detention centers but were not provided with any medical treatment.

Furthermore, the Prison Administration is denying Chemotherapy to detainee Suleiman Al Saady, 41, from the Jenin refugee camp.

Meanwhile, the detainees in Shatta prison refused their visitation rights as the soldiers insisted to cuff and shackle them during visitation time.

Soldiers at the Ramon Prison attacked the families of several detainees injuring the wife of detainee Ala’ Qfeisha, and the mother of detainee Lo’ay Qfeisha.

Detainees at the Nafha Prison held a one-day hunger strike to protest repeated attacks and searches to their rooms.

Detainee Shadi Abu Al Hasseen declared he is resuming his hunger strike until his release, especially since he ended his 7-year term but was never released.

Detainee Jamal Abu Al Haija, a Hamas leader in solitary confinement at the Ayalon Prison, and detainee Aahed Ghalama, a leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, started a hunger strike demanding better living conditions, and visitation rights.

Detainees in all solitary sections at the Al Jalama prison conducted a hunger strike demanding an end to their solitary confinement that started three months ago.

There are more than 8000 detainees, including hundreds of children and women, imprisoned by Israel. At least 27 of them were kidnapped and imprisoned more than 25 years ago.

Nafha detainees gearing to go on hunger strike next week

[ 06/11/2010 - 10:07 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- Palestinian detainees in the Israeli Nafha prison are gearing to go on hunger strike next week in response to rising unfair treatment by the Israel Prison Service (IPS), the “Prisoners’ Supporters” organization in Gaza said, calling on the Red Cross and other rights organizations to intervene to protect those prisoners against unbearable conditions inside the facilities. The organization said in a statement it issued Friday that the IPS has been undertaking a campaign of constant raids and searches against prisoners with the ultimate goal of humiliating them and breaking their wills. The organization stressed that IPS practices conflict with international laws and standards, adding that further steps to support prisoners are under way. In the same context, senior Hamas official Raafat Nasif went on his eighth straight day of hunger strike to protest the prison administration’s brutal treatment of prisoners, detainees in the Israeli Megiddo prison informed the Center for Prisoners Studies. The prisoners added that Shadi Mohammed Jadullah Abu Al-Hussain, 34, of Khan Younis, who was sentenced to seven years in Israeli detention, has gone into his fourth day of fasting to demand his freedom after his sentence was completed in mid-August. Sources said he was being held for not having a Palestinian identity. In related developments, Israeli authorities are pushing for a new law depriving any Palestinian prisoner the right to meet with a lawyer for one year after his arrest. The current law allows prisoners lawyer visits 21 days after they are initially detained. Senior rights groups in Palestine condemned the bill, arguing that it will obstruct outsiders’ awareness of torture methods the IPS practices against prisoners, particularly during the investigation process, when signs of abuse on detainees can clearly be detected. Rights expert Riyadh Al Ashkar added that the bill, if passed, could make it difficult for lawyers to directly monitor the defendant’s case, thus not allowing for a proper defense. “This would allow for the IPS to single out the prisoner and impose the sentence it desires,” he said.

Detainee still in jail months after serving term

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- Protesting a 3-month delay of his release, a Gaza man held in Israel's Negev prison went on hunger strike Monday, a prisoners support group reported.

Shadi Abu Al-Hussein, 34, from the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, was due for release on 31 August but has remained in an isolation cell.

An Israeli prison service spokesman confirmed that Abu Al-Hussein had completed his sentence but "is being held in legal custody awaiting deportation."

According to the prisoners center, he was being held because he does not have an Israeli-issued ID card, which acts as identification for the Israeli government, military and public services. The prison service spokesman was unable to confirm that this was the reason behind the delay.

Officials at Israel's Ministry of the Interior, where identity cards are issued, were not available for comment.

In 2009, estimates showed at least 5,000 people in Gaza were awaiting family reunification permits from Israel. Although Israeli forces withdrew from the Strip in 2005, taking with them 8,500 settlers, the military maintains strict control of the borders. Relatives are rarely allowed to visit loved ones in prison.

In recent months, prisoners with ID cards registering them in Gaza, but who had lived in the West Bank with their spouses or relatives, were deported to Gaza without recourse to the courts.

National committee: Release Gaza prisoners whose incarceration term ended

[ 01/11/2010 - 12:37 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- The higher national committee for support of prisoners has asked international human rights organizations to immediately intervene with the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) to end its crime of detaining Gazan prisoners whose sentences had ended. Riyadh Al-Ashqar, the committee's spokesman, said in a press release on Sunday that the IOA refuses to release 8 prisoners from Gaza Strip who had completed their sentences. He named the prisoners, adding that one of them, Shadi Abul Hussein, was told that he would be deported to either Yemen or Syria because he does not have a Palestinian ID which made him go on hunger strike in protest over the decision. Ashqar said that the continued detention of those Gazans without any legal justification was in absolute contempt of all international legal and humanitarian doctrines in addition to shedding light on the nature of the "Israeli judiciary" that provides a legal cover for IOA crimes against the Palestinian captives. He asked the media to highlight the IOA violations and expose it before the world public opinion.

Palestinian detainee held in isolation for going on hunger strike

[ 31/10/2010 - 10:04 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- The Israeli military court will hold Palestinian detainee Shadi Abul Hussein in solitary confinement on Sunday for going on hunger strike over the past four days, his mother told the PIC on Saturday. She added that Abul Hussein was protesting the Israeli occupation authority's (IOA) refusal to release him despite completing his sentence almost two months ago. The mother appealed to all concerned parties to stand alongside her son and demand an end to the oppression that had befallen him. She asked all human rights organizations to visit her son at his request, adding that he told her that no one was visiting him and he needed such visits. The IOA refuses to release Abul Hussein until finding a country that would accept him as a deportee.

IOA refuses to release Palestinian prisoner after serving his term

[ 25/10/2010 - 11:40 AM ]

RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) is refusing to release Palestinian prisoner Shadi Abul Hussein despite ending his seven-year sentence on 31/8/2010, a Palestinian human rights group said. The prisoners' center for studies said in a statement on Monday that Abul Hussein, 34, was living with his family in Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip, at the time of his arrest. The IOA claims that he did not obtain a Palestinian identity card and thus could not return to the Strip. It added that the Negev prison administration, where the prisoner is held, threatened him with solitary confinement or transfer to another prison in the event he continued his strike. The IOA proposed deporting Abul Hussein to other countries such as Yemen or Lebanon. The center appealed to the Ramallah ministry of prisoners, the Red Cross and other official and non-governmental organizations to pressure the IOA into allowing him to return to his family.