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.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Israel detains Islamic Jihad leader without charge or trial
Sheikh Bassam Al-Sadi will be held at Ofer military prison near Ramallah under administrative detention, the center said.
Al-Sadi was detained immediately after Hamas and Fatah signed a reconciliation agreement in Cairo, the center noted, adding that he was detained only two months after finishing an 8-year sentence in Israeli prisons.
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.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Urgent Appeal: Addameer Demands Annulment of Ahmad Qatamish’s Administrative Detention Order
Addameer
Ramallah, 4 May 2011
At 8:30 pm on 3 May 2011, the Israeli military authorities issued an administrative detention order against Ahmad Qatamish, the renowned Palestinian writer and political scientist, despite informing him and his lawyer only hours earlier that he would be released that day. Addameer is outraged by this decision and deems Mr. Qatamish’s arrest to be a case of arbitrary detention motivated solely by his opinions and peaceful activism.
On 4 May 2011, Addameer obtained a copy of Mr. Qatamish’s administrative detention order, which disgracefully appears to be a copy of someone else’s detention order that has been tampered with to include Mr. Qatamish’s name. This is clear evidence that these orders are not actually issued by the Israeli military commander of the West Bank after careful review of all the evidence against the suspect in question, but rather orchestrated by the Israeli Security Agency (ISA) and the military prosecution, in this case to keep Mr. Qatamish in prison despite lack of evidence against him. Furthermore, the order actually calls for an extension of his administrative detention, despite the fact that this is Mr. Qatamish’s first administrative detention in years. It also states that Mr. Qatamish is suspected of being a Hamas activist, a gross misrepresentation since he has historically been associated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The claim is all the more absurd since only last week, the ISA itself accused Mr. Qatamish of currently being a PFLP member, a claim that he denies.
Certain that they would be reunited with him shortly, Mr. Qatamish’s relatives spent the evening of 3 May 2011 waiting for him at the gates of Ofer Prison, where he is currently held, after the Ofer Military Court informed Mr. Qatamish’s lawyer, Mahmoud Hassan, at 12:00 pm that his client would be released by 5:00 pm. At approximately 5:00 pm, Mr. Qatamish himself was also given the same news by the Israeli Prison Service. Only half an hour later, however, Mr. Hassan was told that his client’s detention would in fact be extended and was asked to come to court. Mr. Hassan immediately called the military prosecutor in Mr. Qatamish’s case, who contradicted this information, insisting that Mr. Qatamish was in fact going to be released. At 7:45 pm, after more than two hours of confusion and uncertainty, the military court informed Mr. Hassan that a final decision would be made by 9 or 9:30 pm. At 8:30 pm, however, he was informed that the Israeli military commander of the West Bank had issued an administrative detention order against Mr. Qatamish but was given no further information. Mr. Hassan and Mr. Qatamish’s family had to wait until 11 pm to find out from the Israeli Prison Service that the period of Mr. Qatamish’s administrative detention had been set for six months, but no date for the detention order’s review has been set yet. Because administrative detention is a form of detention without charge or trial, it is likely that Mr. Qatamish and his lawyer will never know what the evidence against him is.
Sadly, Mr. Qatamish’s family was not the only victim of the Israeli authorities’ manipulations and complete disregard on 3 May 2011, as other prisoners and detainees due to be released that day were made to wait until a decision was reached in Mr. Qatamish’s case before being reunited with their families waiting for them at the prison gates.
Mr. Qatamish was arrested by the Israeli Occupying Forces at 2 a.m. on 21 April 2011 and his detention was extended on 28 April 2011 for six days and set to expire on 3 May 2011. In the two weeks that Mr. Qatamish has spent in detention, he has only been interrogated once for 10 minutes, when he was first arrested. This supports Addameer’s conviction that Mr. Qatamish is only being targeted for his writings and peaceful activism and not for any imperative “security” reasons as claimed by the Israeli authorities and as is necessary to justify the use of administrative detention under international humanitarian law.
Addameer calls on the international community, particularly representatives of the European Union, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and international human rights organizations, to intervene with the Israeli authorities to demand Mr. Qatamish’s immediate release.
* * *
For more information, please contact:
Addameer Prisoner and Human Rights Association
Tel/Fax: +972 (0)2 296 0446/+972 (0)2 296 0447
Email: info@addameer.ps Website: www.addameer.info
Ramallah, 4 May 2011
At 8:30 pm on 3 May 2011, the Israeli military authorities issued an administrative detention order against Ahmad Qatamish, the renowned Palestinian writer and political scientist, despite informing him and his lawyer only hours earlier that he would be released that day. Addameer is outraged by this decision and deems Mr. Qatamish’s arrest to be a case of arbitrary detention motivated solely by his opinions and peaceful activism.
On 4 May 2011, Addameer obtained a copy of Mr. Qatamish’s administrative detention order, which disgracefully appears to be a copy of someone else’s detention order that has been tampered with to include Mr. Qatamish’s name. This is clear evidence that these orders are not actually issued by the Israeli military commander of the West Bank after careful review of all the evidence against the suspect in question, but rather orchestrated by the Israeli Security Agency (ISA) and the military prosecution, in this case to keep Mr. Qatamish in prison despite lack of evidence against him. Furthermore, the order actually calls for an extension of his administrative detention, despite the fact that this is Mr. Qatamish’s first administrative detention in years. It also states that Mr. Qatamish is suspected of being a Hamas activist, a gross misrepresentation since he has historically been associated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The claim is all the more absurd since only last week, the ISA itself accused Mr. Qatamish of currently being a PFLP member, a claim that he denies.
Certain that they would be reunited with him shortly, Mr. Qatamish’s relatives spent the evening of 3 May 2011 waiting for him at the gates of Ofer Prison, where he is currently held, after the Ofer Military Court informed Mr. Qatamish’s lawyer, Mahmoud Hassan, at 12:00 pm that his client would be released by 5:00 pm. At approximately 5:00 pm, Mr. Qatamish himself was also given the same news by the Israeli Prison Service. Only half an hour later, however, Mr. Hassan was told that his client’s detention would in fact be extended and was asked to come to court. Mr. Hassan immediately called the military prosecutor in Mr. Qatamish’s case, who contradicted this information, insisting that Mr. Qatamish was in fact going to be released. At 7:45 pm, after more than two hours of confusion and uncertainty, the military court informed Mr. Hassan that a final decision would be made by 9 or 9:30 pm. At 8:30 pm, however, he was informed that the Israeli military commander of the West Bank had issued an administrative detention order against Mr. Qatamish but was given no further information. Mr. Hassan and Mr. Qatamish’s family had to wait until 11 pm to find out from the Israeli Prison Service that the period of Mr. Qatamish’s administrative detention had been set for six months, but no date for the detention order’s review has been set yet. Because administrative detention is a form of detention without charge or trial, it is likely that Mr. Qatamish and his lawyer will never know what the evidence against him is.
Sadly, Mr. Qatamish’s family was not the only victim of the Israeli authorities’ manipulations and complete disregard on 3 May 2011, as other prisoners and detainees due to be released that day were made to wait until a decision was reached in Mr. Qatamish’s case before being reunited with their families waiting for them at the prison gates.
Mr. Qatamish was arrested by the Israeli Occupying Forces at 2 a.m. on 21 April 2011 and his detention was extended on 28 April 2011 for six days and set to expire on 3 May 2011. In the two weeks that Mr. Qatamish has spent in detention, he has only been interrogated once for 10 minutes, when he was first arrested. This supports Addameer’s conviction that Mr. Qatamish is only being targeted for his writings and peaceful activism and not for any imperative “security” reasons as claimed by the Israeli authorities and as is necessary to justify the use of administrative detention under international humanitarian law.
Addameer calls on the international community, particularly representatives of the European Union, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and international human rights organizations, to intervene with the Israeli authorities to demand Mr. Qatamish’s immediate release.
* * *
For more information, please contact:
Addameer Prisoner and Human Rights Association
Tel/Fax: +972 (0)2 296 0446/+972 (0)2 296 0447
Email: info@addameer.ps Website: www.addameer.info
Rights group: 1,500 detainees need medical treatment
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- A detainees' center said Monday that over 1,500 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails needed medical attention.
A lawyer from the center visited one of Israel's desert jails in Beer Sheva, and found that prison authorities punished detainees by refusing them medical attention.
He said the jail's administration had refused treatment to Bilal Badra, who suffered severe pain from a kidney infections. Badra was detained in 2002 and sentenced to 18 years.
The center called for an investigation into Israel's practice of denying Palestinian detainees medical treatment, and said it was common across the country's prisons.
The number of sick detainees was increasing and many had life-threatening illnesses, the center added.
A lawyer from the center visited one of Israel's desert jails in Beer Sheva, and found that prison authorities punished detainees by refusing them medical attention.
He said the jail's administration had refused treatment to Bilal Badra, who suffered severe pain from a kidney infections. Badra was detained in 2002 and sentenced to 18 years.
The center called for an investigation into Israel's practice of denying Palestinian detainees medical treatment, and said it was common across the country's prisons.
The number of sick detainees was increasing and many had life-threatening illnesses, the center added.
Jenin woman enters 10th year in Israeli jail
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Palestinian detainee Qahira Al-Sadi entered her 10th year in an Israeli jail on Sunday, the Ministry of Detainees' in Gaza said.
Al-Sadi, 35, was sentenced to life imprisonment accused of affiliation to Islamic Jihad and aiding a suicide bomber, the ministry said.
Al-Sadi, from Jenin, has four children, but only two of them are allowed to visit her in Hasharon prison. Israeli authorities banned her two children aged over 16 and her three brothers from visiting her.
The ministry said she has lost several teeth but the prison authorities have refused to allow her dental treatment.
Al-Sadi, 35, was sentenced to life imprisonment accused of affiliation to Islamic Jihad and aiding a suicide bomber, the ministry said.
Al-Sadi, from Jenin, has four children, but only two of them are allowed to visit her in Hasharon prison. Israeli authorities banned her two children aged over 16 and her three brothers from visiting her.
The ministry said she has lost several teeth but the prison authorities have refused to allow her dental treatment.
Prisoner strike secures eye surgery for inmate
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- A successful prisoners strike saw a Palestinian detainee in Israel receive eye surgery, which friends and relatives said was long overdue, Hussam Detainees' Center said.
Sufian Al-Zibda, from Gaza City, had an operation on his left retina at the Soroka Hospital in Beersheba, the center said.
A prison doctor had reportedly said the detainee needed urgent surgery but Israel's Prison Service had refused to allow his treatment.
Prisoners launched a strike in protest of the decision.
Al-Zibda was detained in 2010 by Israeli forces at the Erez crossing, as he tried to leave Gaza to go to the West Bank. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison.
Sufian Al-Zibda, from Gaza City, had an operation on his left retina at the Soroka Hospital in Beersheba, the center said.
A prison doctor had reportedly said the detainee needed urgent surgery but Israel's Prison Service had refused to allow his treatment.
Prisoners launched a strike in protest of the decision.
Al-Zibda was detained in 2010 by Israeli forces at the Erez crossing, as he tried to leave Gaza to go to the West Bank. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison.
Addameer Quarterly Update on Palestinian Prisoners - April 2011
Addameer’s periodic report on violations against Palestinian political prisoners, containing up-to-date news and statistics. (pdf file ~,2 M)
Bethlehem man marks 20 years in prison
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- The Gaza City detainees center announced Thursday the upcoming 20th anniversary of a Bethlehem man in Israeli custody.
Adnan Al-Afandy, 40, from the Ad-Duheisheh refugee camp, was detained on May 13, 1992. He has another 10 years to serve on his sentence, on charges of belonging to the Islamic Jihad movement and of stabbing two settlers during the First Intifada.
His first 70 days of detention were spent in interrogation, during which period he was kept in solitary confinement
He has served most of his time at Israel's Ramon prison.
According to family, Al-Afandy completed his BA in prison, where he is a prominent leader.
Adnan Al-Afandy, 40, from the Ad-Duheisheh refugee camp, was detained on May 13, 1992. He has another 10 years to serve on his sentence, on charges of belonging to the Islamic Jihad movement and of stabbing two settlers during the First Intifada.
His first 70 days of detention were spent in interrogation, during which period he was kept in solitary confinement
He has served most of his time at Israel's Ramon prison.
According to family, Al-Afandy completed his BA in prison, where he is a prominent leader.
UN Special Rapporteur on torture to give expert opinion on the arrest of minors in Israeli military court
10 May 2011 | Popular Struggle Coordination Committee
The Special Rapporteur’s expert opinion will be filed to the Ofer Military Court by the defense next Monday in a pre-trial hearing in the case of 14 year-old Islam Dar Ayyoub who was taken from his bed at gun-point by Israeli soldiers in the middle of the night and questioned unlawfully.
14 year-old Islam Dar Ayyoub was arrested on January 23 by a large group of soldiers who stormed his family’s home in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh in the middle of the night. He was taken from his bed at gunpoint , beaten up by the soldiers who arrested him and denied him sleep. His arrest, only a week after a previous military night-time raid on his house, is in line with a common Israeli tactic of callously arresting minors in order to use their confessions against many others in the quest to suppress anti occupation demonstrations.
In addition to the report prepared by the Special Rapporteur in regards to such unjustified arrests of minors in night-time military operations, defense witnesses will also include Adv. Lymor Goldstine on the denial of legal counsel, a psychiatrist’s expert opinion on the psychological effects of such arrests, as well as the testimony of the 14 year-old himself.
Despite being a minor, Dar Ayyoub was questioned by the Israeli police the following morning for nearly five hours, without being allowed sleep since his arrest. He was denied his right to legal counsel even while his lawyer was present at the police station, as well as his right to have a parent present during his questioning.
During a previous hearing in the defense’s motion to declare his confession inadmissible, it was proved that Dar Ayyoub was not informed of his right to remain silent, and even told that “It would be best to tell the truth” by his interrogators. It was also acknowledged that only one of his four interrogators was qualified as a youth interrogator.
Due to the fundamental flaws in Dar Ayyoub’s interrogation, the court has ordered his release from custody on April 4th. While no longer behind bars, the military prosecution refuses to drop the charges against him, apparently because his confession is used as the main evidence in the trials of many others.
During his interrogation, Dar Ayyoub confessed to having thrown stones at Israeli soldiers during the weekly demonstrations against settlement expansion in his village, Nabi Saleh. He also implicated many others in committing similar offenses. Among those incriminated by his confession are grassroots organizers Bassem Tamimi and Naji Tamimi. Dar Ayyoub told his interrogators a fictitious story alleging that the two organized groups of youth into “brigades”, each with its own responsibility during the demonstrations: some have allegedly been in charge of stone-throwing, some of blocking roads, others of distracting the army and so on. The two have been arrested and indicted mostly based on his statement, and are currently awaiting trial.
Updated on May 10, 2011
The Special Rapporteur’s expert opinion will be filed to the Ofer Military Court by the defense next Monday in a pre-trial hearing in the case of 14 year-old Islam Dar Ayyoub who was taken from his bed at gun-point by Israeli soldiers in the middle of the night and questioned unlawfully.
14 year-old Islam Dar Ayyoub was arrested on January 23 by a large group of soldiers who stormed his family’s home in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh in the middle of the night. He was taken from his bed at gunpoint , beaten up by the soldiers who arrested him and denied him sleep. His arrest, only a week after a previous military night-time raid on his house, is in line with a common Israeli tactic of callously arresting minors in order to use their confessions against many others in the quest to suppress anti occupation demonstrations.
In addition to the report prepared by the Special Rapporteur in regards to such unjustified arrests of minors in night-time military operations, defense witnesses will also include Adv. Lymor Goldstine on the denial of legal counsel, a psychiatrist’s expert opinion on the psychological effects of such arrests, as well as the testimony of the 14 year-old himself.
Despite being a minor, Dar Ayyoub was questioned by the Israeli police the following morning for nearly five hours, without being allowed sleep since his arrest. He was denied his right to legal counsel even while his lawyer was present at the police station, as well as his right to have a parent present during his questioning.
During a previous hearing in the defense’s motion to declare his confession inadmissible, it was proved that Dar Ayyoub was not informed of his right to remain silent, and even told that “It would be best to tell the truth” by his interrogators. It was also acknowledged that only one of his four interrogators was qualified as a youth interrogator.
Due to the fundamental flaws in Dar Ayyoub’s interrogation, the court has ordered his release from custody on April 4th. While no longer behind bars, the military prosecution refuses to drop the charges against him, apparently because his confession is used as the main evidence in the trials of many others.
During his interrogation, Dar Ayyoub confessed to having thrown stones at Israeli soldiers during the weekly demonstrations against settlement expansion in his village, Nabi Saleh. He also implicated many others in committing similar offenses. Among those incriminated by his confession are grassroots organizers Bassem Tamimi and Naji Tamimi. Dar Ayyoub told his interrogators a fictitious story alleging that the two organized groups of youth into “brigades”, each with its own responsibility during the demonstrations: some have allegedly been in charge of stone-throwing, some of blocking roads, others of distracting the army and so on. The two have been arrested and indicted mostly based on his statement, and are currently awaiting trial.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Detainees protest solitary confinement
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Palestinians detained in Israeli jails declared a hunger strike Saturday to demand the release of prisoners from solitary confinement, the Ministry of Detainees in Gaza said.
The ministry said detainees would go on a two-day hunger strike every week until Israeli prison authorities released Palestinians from solitary confinement, some of whom had been isolated for many years.
Ministry spokesman Riyad Al-Ashqar said 2,000 prisoners were participating in the strike in Eshel, Ramon, Ashkelon and Nafha jails.
Israel's prison administration had already punished prisoners in Ramon prison for the strike by banning them from family visits for one month, Al-Ashqar added.
In a statement, the ministry urged Palestinians to protest in support of the detainees.
Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike
04 May 2011 | PressTV
Palestinian political prisoners in Israel’s Nafha jail have gone on a hunger strike to protest the inhumane treatment of detainees by the Israeli prison administration.
Hundreds of Palestinian inmates held in the Israeli military detention center in northern West Bank took part in the one-day event on Tuesday, said Rafat Hamduna, director of the Palestinian Prisoners Study Center. The hunger strike came after Israeli guards, led by military officer Shimon Martislio, orchestrated humiliating raids and searches at the detention cells last week, the Palestine News Network reported. Hamduna warned that the hunger strike would spread to more Israeli jails if the inmates’ very basic rights are not met.
The Prisoners Study Center also called on the Red Cross and other local and international human rights groups to help put a stop to the suffering of Palestinian political prisoners held in Israeli jails. The Israeli prison administration is accused of using the policy of humiliation, pressure and punishment under the guise of security in its jails. Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli detention camps are continuously subject to lengthy solitary confinements, sudden night raids and torture. The Israeli prison administration also deprives Palestinian political detainees of the simple right of bathing, access to clean clothes and family visits.
The hunger strike is one of the few methods of nonviolent resistance available to Palestinian prisoners in jails. The protesters in Nafha are also taking action against the poor quality of food and the lack of medical attention. Israeli prisons have been facing such criticism for years. The situation is nothing new, except that it is worsening, according to human rights organizations.
Some 11,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, including women and children, are currently held in Israeli jails. Many of them are held without charges, leaving several families with no breadwinner.
Updated on May 5, 2011
Palestinian political prisoners in Israel’s Nafha jail have gone on a hunger strike to protest the inhumane treatment of detainees by the Israeli prison administration.
Hundreds of Palestinian inmates held in the Israeli military detention center in northern West Bank took part in the one-day event on Tuesday, said Rafat Hamduna, director of the Palestinian Prisoners Study Center. The hunger strike came after Israeli guards, led by military officer Shimon Martislio, orchestrated humiliating raids and searches at the detention cells last week, the Palestine News Network reported. Hamduna warned that the hunger strike would spread to more Israeli jails if the inmates’ very basic rights are not met.
The Prisoners Study Center also called on the Red Cross and other local and international human rights groups to help put a stop to the suffering of Palestinian political prisoners held in Israeli jails. The Israeli prison administration is accused of using the policy of humiliation, pressure and punishment under the guise of security in its jails. Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli detention camps are continuously subject to lengthy solitary confinements, sudden night raids and torture. The Israeli prison administration also deprives Palestinian political detainees of the simple right of bathing, access to clean clothes and family visits.
The hunger strike is one of the few methods of nonviolent resistance available to Palestinian prisoners in jails. The protesters in Nafha are also taking action against the poor quality of food and the lack of medical attention. Israeli prisons have been facing such criticism for years. The situation is nothing new, except that it is worsening, according to human rights organizations.
Some 11,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, including women and children, are currently held in Israeli jails. Many of them are held without charges, leaving several families with no breadwinner.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
IOF kidnap MP Romanin from his home
| [ 03/05/2011 - 12:27 PM ] |
 |
| JERICHO, (PIC)-- The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) kidnapped at dawn Tuesday Hamas lawmaker Ali Romanin from Jericho city. His wife told the Palestinian information center (PIC) that dozens of Israeli troops stormed Awja village, north of Jericho, at about one o'clock in the morning and violently raided their home. She added that once the troops saw Romanin, they rounded him up and took him to an unknown destination. Romanin was released five months ago from Israeli jails after he spent four and a half years in administrative detention. Nine other Palestinian lawmakers affiliated with Hamas is already in Israeli jails, namely, Mahmoud Al-Ramhi, Hatem Kafisha, Nayef Al-Rajoub, Khalil Al-Raba'ee, Mohamed Attal, Omar Abdulrazeq, Mohamed Annatsha, Azzam Salhab and Mohamed Badr. |
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.
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.
Addameer condemns continuing detention of Ahmad Qatamish
Addameer
Ramallah, 28 April 2011
Ramallah, 28 April 2011
On 28 April 2011, Ahmad Qatamish, a Palestinian writer and political scientist, was told at Ofer military court that his detention would be extended for another 6 days whilst the Israeli police continue their investigations. Addameer condemns the decision of the military court, and fears that Qatamish’s extended detention will lead to lengthy interrogation and possibly administrative detention.
At 2 a.m. on 21 April 2011, Ahmad Qatamish, a Palestinian writer and political scientist, was arrested by the Israeli Occupying Forces at his home in Ramallah. An hour earlier, Qatamesh’s wife, 22-year-old daughter and two other female relatives, including a 14-year-old child, were taken hostage by Israeli troops in another apartment to compel him to surrender himself. He was led to “Ofer” detention center in Beitunia.
Addameer is gravely concerned about Mr. Qatamish’s continuing detention, as it suggests that he is still being targeted for his writings and peaceful activism and not any ’security’ reasons as claimed by the Israeli authorities. In the 8 days Qatamish has spent in detention, he has only been interrogated once for 10 minutes, when he was first arrested. At Ofer Military Court on 28 April, the Israeli police claimed that recent developments in their investigations require them to detain him for a further 11 days for interrogation. Although this timeframe was rejected by the Military Judge on the grounds that the evidence that he has so far received is not sufficient to justify prolonged detention, it was still decided that Qatamish would remain in detention for another 6 days to allow the Israeli police to continue their investigations.
The Israeli police’s request for an extension to his current detention is based on their claim that Mr. Qatamish in recent months has become an active member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a claim which Mr. Qatamish denied at Ofer court on 28 April. He highlighted that the last time he was detained was in 1998, and since then has spent his time writing books and articles and lecturing at universities, and has never feared to make his opinions known regarding the arbitrary practices of both the Israeli and Palestinian authorities. Mr. Qatamish has been the target of the Israeli authorities before on numerous occasions, notably spending five and a half consecutive years in detention without charge or trial in the mid-1990s.
Mr. Qatamish was first arrested by the Israeli authorities in 1969 and held for a few months. He was then rearrested in 1972, this time spending 4 years in prison. After his release, Mr. Qatamish spent 17 years in hiding from 1976 to 1992 to avoid re-arrest. On 2 September 1992, however, he was arrested once more, in the presence of his then 3-year-old daughter, and was subjected to torture and ill treatment during 100 days of interrogation, an experience which he vividly exposed in his prison notes entitled I Shall not Wear Your Tarboush (fez). He was placed in administrative detention, a form of detention without charge or trial that is based on secret information made available to the Military Judge, and which can be renewed indefinitely. For the next five and a half years, Mr. Qatamish’s detention order was renewed every six months, making him one of the longest held administrative detainees. He was finally released on 15 April 1998 after an extensive international campaign on his behalf, but has been prohibited from traveling outside the occupied Palestinian territory by the Israeli authorities ever since. After his release in 1998, Mr. Qatamish completed his studies in political science and devoted his life to writing and lecturing, notably founding the Munif Barghouti Research Center and teaching a course in 2010 at the School of Humanities at Al-Quds University.
At Ofer Military Court on 28 April the Addameer lawyer representing Ahmad Qatamish requested that he be released from his current detention. Mr. Qatamish’s detention will be reviewed on 3 May, and Addameer will continue to closely follow his case and publish further information accordingly.
Relative: 11-year-old detained in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (Ma’an) – Israeli forces detained Friday an 11-year-old boy from a village northwest of Jerusalem, a relative said.
Muhammad Hushiyeh was walking in the Qatanna village when youths threw stones at Israeli soldiers, his cousin Lubna told Ma'an.
She said soldiers arrested the stone-throwers and swept up Muhammad as well. He was not involved beforehand, she insisted.
The boy is already in a difficult situation; his father was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers a year earlier, Lubna pointed out.
Muhammad Hushiyeh was walking in the Qatanna village when youths threw stones at Israeli soldiers, his cousin Lubna told Ma'an.
She said soldiers arrested the stone-throwers and swept up Muhammad as well. He was not involved beforehand, she insisted.
The boy is already in a difficult situation; his father was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers a year earlier, Lubna pointed out.
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