Salah Hamouri will have what seems to be his final appeal hearing on 12 September at the Israeli High Court. The appeal does not come from our legal team, but rather is the Israeli prosecution seeking to reinstate the six-month administrative detention order that was initially handed down to Salah on 29 August 2017.

There is no best outcome here. Either way, Salah will be serving at least three months in prison with the potential of having an administrative detention order placed on him after the conclusion of his sentence. The appeal therefore represents an attempt by the Israeli state attorney’s office to maintain the ability to request administrative detention orders against individuals who should be judged under Israeli civil law. As a Jerusalem resident, Mr. Hamouri has certain rights that are to be afforded to him and administrative detention spits in the face of any form of due process.

For Salah to be issued an administrative detention order, it must be signed and approved by Israeli Minister of War Avigdor Liberman. As such, we are calling on our, and Salah’s supporters, to take an urgent action calling for the immediate release of Salah Hamouri.

All our international supporters, and especially Salah’s friends in France, have been asking us how they can help from so far away. In response to those calls, this is our strategy. There is a need to both ensure that international attention remains on Salah’s case and to make sure that the decision making bodies are aware of how important it is to so many people.

As such, we will be asking all our supporters to make at least one phone call to the office of Minister of War, Avigdor Liberman, one to the Office of the State Attorney, Shai Nitzan, or to send them both an email about Salah’s case.

In your phone call, let them know that you are calling about the case of Salah Hammouri, human rights defender, whose appeal will take place in the Israeli Supreme Court on 12 September 2017. Let them know that you think that the state attorney’s request for an administrative detention order undermines any fairness, or justice, that may exist in the Israeli legal system. Be polite, and keep your message to the point. We want to ensure that they can’t ignore us.

Beware that if you reveal your name, it is likely that you will be placed on a list banning you from entering Palestine.

If you haven’t already signed the petition, you can do so at this link and write us a message about how your phone call or email went. 

Thanks again for all the support for Salah, and human rights defenders in Palestine.