Addameer petitions visit ban against leader Ahmad Sa'adat

On 10 May 2017, Addameer's attorney Farah Bayadsi submitted a petition to the Israeli District Court of Beer Al Sabe' against banning her from visiting PFLP leader Ahmad Sa'adat, who was transferred to isolation in Ashkelon prison after joining the mass hunger strike. Since the beginning of the strike, 17 April 2017, Addameer requested several visits from Israeli Prison Service (IPS) to visit hunger-striking prisoners and detainees, but the IPS either does not respond or rejects the request. Addameer particularly condemns the IPS’ restrictions imposed on lawyers to visit all prisoners following the increasing number of Palestinian prisoners engaging in the hunger strike. Despite Israeli High Court ruling to allow prisoners see their attorneys, the IPS frequently denied visits upon request. Addameer anticipates that the IPS will continue to use such tactics in order to systematically prevent lawyers from having access to the hunger strikers, such as moving prisoners to other prisons without informing their lawyers, in an attempt to further isolate the hunger strikers and undermine their strike.

Due to this ban on attorney visits, Addameer has not been able to track development of the prisoners' health and daily conditions.