Quarterly Update on Palestinian Prisoners (15 October 2010 - 15 January 2011)

This Quarterly Update covers the period from 15 October 2010 to 15 January 2011. It provides the most up-to-date statistics on prisoners and arrests and an overview of the important trends this quarter. In addition, it gives background on individual prisoner cases and summarizes the most relevant legal, UN and EU news, as well as Addameer‘s activities over the reporting period.

PRISONER NEWS & ADVOCACY UPDATE

• Change and Reform PLC member Hatem Qafisha, who was arrested on 18 October 2010, was placed in administration detention on 25 October 2010 for a period of six months. Hatem Qafisha had previously been arrested on 6 November 2007 and held under administrative detention without charge or trial until 1 November 2009.
• On 19 October, Change and Reform PLC member Ali Romaneen was released after serving four and a half years in Israeli detention. He was arrested on 29 June 2006 as part of Israel’s arrest sweep following the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit on 25 June 2006.
• On 21 October, PLC member and Secretary General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) Ahmad Saadat’s fourth isolation order was confirmed for another six months, due to expire on 21 April 2011. Ahmad Saadat is entering his 22^nd consecutive month in isolation and has been denied all family visits during this time. Throughout his isolation, Ahmad Saadat has been moved to a different prison every six months and 11 January 2011, he was moved again to Nafha Prison.
• On 10 November, Change and Reform PLC member and PLC Secretary General Mahmoud al-Ramahi was arrested and on 16 November, a 6-month administrative detention order was issued against him, due to expire on 9 May 2011. As of 15 January, he had not yet been able to receive any family visits. Mahmoud Al-Ramahi had previously been arrested on 20 August 2006 as retaliation for the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and released on 30 March 2009.
• Change and Reform PLC member Ayman Daraghma was released from Israeli prison on 16 November after serving 19 months in administrative detention. He was arrested on 19 March 2009 together with nine other Palestinian political figures a day after negotiations between Hamas and Israel over prisoner exchanges collapsed in Cairo.
• On 30 November, Change and Reform PLC member Nayef al-Rujub was arrested and placed in administrative detention for six months. He had been released just four months before on 20 June after serving a four year sentence in Israeli prison following his arrest on 29 June 2006 as retaliation for the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
• On 8 December 2010, the IOF expelled Change and Reform PLC member and Jerusalem resident Mohammed Abu Teir to Ramallah. In 2006, the Israeli Interior Ministry revoked Abu Teir’s Jerusalem residency on the grounds that he was “breaking loyalty to the state” by participating in the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections. On 20 May 2010, he was released after four years’ imprisonment and required to leave Jerusalem by 19 June. He was arrested on 30 June for refusing to heed the order and detained in Ofer Prison while awaiting the verdict of the Israeli Supreme Court on an injunction filed by his lawyer on his behalf. On 1 July, two other Change and Reform PLC members, Muhammad Totah and Ahmad Attoun, as well as Khaled Abu-Arafeh, the Former Minister of Jerusalem Affairs, whose Jerusalem residencies were also revoked in 2006 for the same reason, started a sit-in protest outside the International Committee of the Red Cross that continues to this day.
• On 28 December, Change and Reform PLC member Mohammed At-Tal was arrested almost a year to the day of his release from 44 months in Israeli prison and placed in administrative detention for six months. He had been arrested on 29 June 2006 as retaliation for the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
• On 30 December, Change and Reform PLC member Khalil Al-Rabia was arrested and placed in administrative detention for six months. He had been released on 11 February 2009 after 42 months in Israeli prison following his arrest on 29 June 2006 as retaliation for the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
• Also on 30 December, independent PLC member Bassim Za’rir was released after spending 25 months in administrative detention. In January 2006, Za’rir was elected to the Legislative Council, and was arrested six months later on charges of belonging to the Change and Reform Bloc. After spending two years in detention awaiting trial on these charges, Za’rir was tried before the military courts, acquitted of all charges and finally released on 23 June 2008. A mere six months later, on 1 January 2009, he was arrested once more and placed under administrative detention without charge or trial. Addameer submitted a complaint on his behalf to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on 14 November 2010. Click here to read Za’rir’s profile.
• On 11 January 2011, Change and Reform PLC member and former finance minister Omar Abdul Razik, formally known as Omar Mahmoud Matar Matar, was arrested in Salfit. He had served 5 months in prison in 2009, as well as over two years after being arrested in mid-2006 as retaliation for the capture of Gilad Shalit. As of 15 January, it was still unclear whether he would be charged with any offense or placed in administrative detention.
• During the reporting period, the families of PLC members were also targeted by the IOF. On 10 November, the son of Change and Reform PLC member Samira Halaiqa was arrested from their home near Hebron. Annas Halaiqa, a 24-year-old journalism student at Hebron University, had been released from Palestinian jail only a few months before on 5 September 2010 and suffered a mental breakdown as a result of his repeated incarceration and ill-treatment. Although an Israeli prison doctor has deemed Annas fit to stand trial, Addameer, which represents Annas, has sought to have an independent doctor confirm this assessment. When the doctor hired by Addameer sought to visit Annas, however, the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) transferred him from Jalameh detention center to Shikma Prison without informing his lawyer. On 11 January, Annas’s lawyer therefore asked for his hearing to be adjourned until 31 January to allow a doctor to visit his client in jail. On 10 January 2011, the 20-year-old son and 53-year-old brother of Change and Reform PLC member Nayef Al-Rujub, who was himself arrested on 30 November 2010, were also detained. As of 15 January, there was no additional information about their arrest.

• On 10 December, former Minister of Prisoner Affairs Wasfi Qabha was detained at Bart’a checkpoint near Jenin. He was reported to have suffered a diabetic attack during the arrest and was transferred to Al-Khadeera hospital before being released on 17 December after a judge reviewed his medical file. Mr. Qabha was last released from Israeli prison in April 2010 after spending nearly three years in jail.
• Sheikh Raed Salah, the leader of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, was released from Israeli prison on 12 December after serving five months for allegedly spitting at an Israeli policeman in February 2007. He had originally been sentenced to nine months but his punishment was reduced by a Jerusalem court.
• On 28 December, Hatem Abdel Qader, Minister for Jerusalem Affairs, was issued a three month suspended sentence for violating military orders banning him from entering the al-Aqsa Mosque. He will continue to be banned from entering the mosque until May 2011.

• On 23 October, prisoners held in Nafha Prison went on a warning strike in protest of what they deemed to be a harassment campaign against them. Wards in Nafha Prison were reportedly raided on several occasions throughout the reporting period, including on 2 November and 26 December, with the Metzada Forces (a special IPS intervention unit responsible for dealing with “irregular events” in prisons) reportedly searching cells for mobile phones and other communication devices.
• On 24 November, Metzada Forces raided the hospital wing of Ramleh Prison (where 25 detainees with chronic illness are held) searching for mobile phones and other communication devices.
• On 29 December, the Nahshon Forces (another special unit responsible mainly for the transfer of prisoners) stormed Ofer Prison, beating prisoners and firing tear gas into the prison, reportedly injuring dozens of prisoners.

• On 26 November, two prominent Palestinian prisoners, Jamal Abu Al-Haija and Ahed Abu Ghulmeh, held in Ramleh Prison, went on a hunger strike to protest their solitary confinement. Abu Haija, who requires regular medical attention for his amputated arm, has been held in isolation for the past seven years and has been denied family visits on “security” grounds. Although his daughter has obtained a permit to visit him and has coordinated her visits with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), she continues to be prevented from visiting him. Abu Haija ended his hunger strike on 13 December and was transferred from Ramleh to Ramon Prison. Abu Ghulmeh, who also ended his hunger strike at the same time, has spent just under a year in isolation.
• After being transferred to Ramon Prison, Jamal Abu Al-Haija was held in isolation with Ahmad Saadat until the latter was moved to Nafha Prison on 11 January. (A prisoner held in isolation may be held alone or with another prisoner and is different from solitary confinement, which is meant to be a punitive measure.) In Ramon, the men were only provided with elevated bunk beds in their shared cell. Because of his continued imprisonment, Ahmad Saadat suffers from back problems that prevent him from using the bed. Jamal’s disability also makes it very difficult for him to use the bunk bed and as a result, they were forced to sleep in shifts on the floor.
• Wafa’ Sameer Al-Bis, 26, has been held in isolation in the Neve Tirza section of Ramleh Prison for six months. On 11 January 2011, her isolation order was renewed for another period of six months. Wafa, as all other prisoners from the Gaza Strip, has been denied all family visits as a result of an Israeli policy instituted in June 2007. She is currently held in a section with female criminal prisoners and her cell has no heat or air condition. Wafa’ is only allowed one hour of recreation per day, she has no access to the prison canteen and her cell is searched regularly, particularly at night. When she was moved to Ramleh Prison, she was not allowed to take any of her personal belongings with her and the ICRC has had to provide her with clothes.

As of 31 December 2010, there were 207 Palestinian administrative detainees including 4 women and 6 PLC members. This represents a 2.3 percent decrease compared with 31 September 2010 when Israel held 212 Palestinians under administrative detention orders without charge or trial.

• Emad Al-Ashhab’s administrative detention was renewed for the fourth time on 4 November 2010 for a period of four months and is now due to expire on 4 February 2011. Emad was arrested on 21 February 2010 when he was still a minor and has been held in administrative detention since then. On 2 January 2011, he turned 18 in prison. Click here to read an urgent appeal on his behalf.
• Muntaha Al Taweel, a 45-year-old mother of four,was issued her fourth consecutive administrative detention order on 5 November 2010, three days before her third order was due to expire. Her new administrative detention order is now set to end on 8 February 2011.
• Kifah Qatash’s administrative detention order was renewed on 5 December 2010 for another four months, making it Kifah’s second consecutive order. Kifah, a 37-year-old mother of two, was arrested on 1 August 2010 and placed in administrative detention on 5 August. Her current detention period is due to expire on 5 April 2011. Addameer submitted a complaint to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on her behalf on 2 December 2010. Click here to read an urgent appeal on her behalf.
• Moatasem Muzher was released on 26 December when his third consecutive administrative detention order expired. Moatasem, who turned 17 two months before his release, had been held in administrative detention since his arrest on 20 March 2010.
• During the reporting period, five Change and Reform PLC members, Nayef al-Rujub, Mahmoud al-Ramahi, Hatem Qafisha, Mohammed At-Tal, and Khalil Al-Rabia were issued six-month administrative detention orders and two other Change and Reform PLC members were released. One more Change and Reform PLC member, Omar Abdul Razik, was arrested, but at the time of publication he was still under interrogation at Kishon detention center and it was unclear whether he would be charged or placed in administrative detention.

• Mohammed Adeeb Abu Rahma, 16, was arrested in his home in Bil’in on 23 November around 2:30 a.m. on “suspicion of participation in violent and illegal riots.” Mohammed, who is the son of the recently released activist Adeeb Abu Rahma (see “Human Rights Defenders” section), was released from Ofer Prison on 8,000-shekel bail on 29 November.
• The trial of Mohammad Halabiyeh, who was arrested on 6 February 2010 at the age of 16 and charged with throwing Molotov cocktails,continues. During his arrest by the Israeli Border Police, Mohammad broke his leg just above the ankle. Despite his injury, he was beaten and tortured for five consecutive days by Israeli soldiers who inserted syringes in his hands and legs, punched him in the face, applied pressure to his cast, covered his mouth with adhesive tape and deprived him of sleep. Mohammad’s case was first reviewed in court on 6 September and a number of hearings have been held since then. At a hearing on 11 January 2011, the judge requested that the commander of the Israeli forces that arrested Mohammed present photo and video evidence of Mohammed’s charges, which he claims are in his possession, at the next scheduled hearing on 14 February. Mohammed, who is now 17, remains in Ofer Prison in a section with adult prisoners until the completion of his trial, which has taken place in the same court room as adults, in contravention of international law. Click here for a profile of Mohammad.
• Addameer’s 25 August 2010 complaint to the Israeli Ministry of Justice regarding the torture and mistreatment of Ahmed Isleem at the hands of his Israeli interrogators has not yet received an answer.However,in prison,Ahmed has been threatened by members of the Israeli Security Agency (ISA) with a longer sentence if he does not stop complaining about his mistreatment. Ahmed, who was 17 at the time of his arrest in April 2010, was held for interrogation for close to 40 days, during which time he was beaten, subjected to verbal abuse, threatened with rape and murder, deprived of sleep, and tied to a bed with his arms and legs chained to a wall for nine consecutive days. Click here to read more about Ahmed’s ill-treatment.
• On 14 November, 15-year-old Hadeel Abu Turki was arrested in Hebron. She was first brought to a detention center in Qiryat Arba settlement and later transferred to HaSharon Prison on 16 November, where she remains. At the time of publication, no further information was available.
• In December 2010, Addameer completed a report on the right of Palestinian child prisoners to education. The report compares the provisions of international and Israeli law, both military and civilian, on the right to education and uses the experiences of countries like Sweden and Canada to highlight the relative deprivation of Palestinian child prisoners. The report is available in Arabic on Addameer’s website and will be available in English soon.

• On 26 October, Linan Abu Gholmeh, who was arrested on 15 July 2010 with her sister Taghreed and placed in administrative detention for six months, started a hunger strike to protest her separation from her sister. Despite repeated requests to be held together, and although such requests have been honored in the past, Linan and Taghreed were held in separate facilities, the former in HaSharon Prison and the latter in Damon Prison. The ISA informed Linan that she could not be held with her sister for undefined “security reasons”. On 28 October, Linan was moved to isolation in response to her hunger strike, where she stayed until 19 December. On 2 November, her mother tried to visit her but was denied permission. On 19 December, Linan broke her hunger strike after being promised that she would be transferred to Damon Prison. However, as this did not occur, Linan continued with a partial hunger strike, accepting only one meal per day. Linan persists in her hunger strike, even after the release of her sister on 2 January, as she continues to be denied visits and phone calls from Taghreed. Linan’s administrative detention is due to end on 26 January 2011.
• On 8 December, Nelly As-Safadi was sentenced to 20 months in prison. Nelly was arrested on 11 November 2009 and held for 48 days in interrogation, during which time she was held in solitary confinement and subjected to physical and psychological torture and ill-treatment. Nelly spent almost a year in HaSharon Prison awaiting the conclusion of her trial. Click here to read Nelly’s profile.
• On 16 December, Taghreed Abu Gholmeh, sister of administrative detainee Linan Abu Ghulmeh, was sentenced to 6 months imprisonment after being convicted of participation in a student group belonging to the PFLP. Taghreed was arrested on 15 July and detained throughout her interrogation and trial. On 2 January 2011, she was released, having completed over two thirds of her sentence.
• Two women were detained during the reporting period for the purpose of interrogation. Sabreen Abu Mashal, from Jerusalem, and Ramia Ratab Abu Samra, arrested on 18 December in Hebron, are currently detained in HaSharon Prison. At the time of publication, no further information was available on these cases.
• Ghufran Alian Saad Zamil, 28, Alia Abdel Majeed Al-Muhtaseb, and Fatyiyya Abd Al-Karim As-Suwis, 57, were released during the reporting period.

• Christian Tomuschat, the head of the Committee of Independent Experts tasked with monitoring and assessing the Israeli and Palestinian investigations into their forces’ actions during the assault on Gaza, resigned on 1 December. According to his resignation letter obtained by the Jerusalem Post, Tomuschat cited scheduling conflicts as the reason for his resignation but no official statement was released.
• The UN Human Rights Council (HRC) is scheduled to consider the Committee of Independent Experts’ second report in late February and March 2010 at its 16^th regular session. The first report, submitted to the Human Rights Council in September 2010, determined that Israel and the Palestinian factions had failed to undertake credible or sufficient investigations. Instead of calling for the situation to be referred to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court as recommended by the Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict in its September 2009 report, the HRC adopted a resolution extending the mandate of the Committee of Independent Experts for another six months.

• From 22 to 26 November 2010, the pre-sessional working group of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights met to consider the report of five countries, including Israel. On 9 December, the Committee published a list of issues that will be taken up with Israel in connection with its third periodic report during the Committee’s 47^th session in November and December 2011.
• The Special Rapporteur on the freedom of opinion and expression, Frank William La Rue, was due to visit Israel and the oPt from 16 to 31 January. At the time of publication, however, the Special Rapporteur’s visit was being postponed because of a strike at the Israeli Foreign Ministry, which started on 27 December 2010 and has affected arrangements for official visits by foreign dignitaries. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur is to gather all relevant information of discrimination against, threats or use of violence and harassment directed at persons seeking to exercise or promote the exercise of the right to freedom of opinion and expression.
• The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women is set to consider Israel’s fifth periodic report at its 48^th session from 17 January to 4 February 2011. Addameer contributed to an alternative report submitted by the Women’s Center for Legal Aid and Counselling to the committee in December 2010.
• The Israeli Prime Minister’s office reported on 12 January that the Israeli Cabinet is set to approve, on 16 January, Israel’s accession to UN Women, the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, with the aim of joining the Executive Board as soon as possible. UN Women was created in July 2010 to merge the four previously distinct parts of the UN system focusing on women. The current board was elected on 10 November 2010 for a three-year term.
• The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights is due to visit the oPt from 6 to 11 February but her visit is also in jeopardy as a result of the Israeli Foreign Ministry strike.
• On 16 to 17 February 2011, the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People will hold a conference in Cairo on the theme of “the urgency of addressing the plight of Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention facilities”. Addameer director Sahar Francis and lawyer Mahmoud Hassan will be participating in the meeting and presenting information on the situation of Palestinian prisoners.

• On 7 December, the British Parliament held a 90-minute debate on “The detention of Palestinian children and the human rights situation in the West Bank” at the request of Sandra Osborne (Labour MP; Ayr, Carrick & Cumnock). Osborne visited the West Bank in late November with a delegation from the Britain-Palestine All-Party Parliamentary Group under the auspices of the Council for Arab-British Understanding. The delegation attended the hearing of Palestinian children at Ofer military court, prompting them to raise this issue in the British Parliament upon their return. During the debate, members of the delegation briefed the Parliament on the process of arrest, interrogation and trial of Palestinian children, highlighting Israel’s violations of international law on the basis of information provided by Addameer, Defence for Children International-Palestine and the Public Committee against Torture in Israel among others. The members of the delegation asked Gerald Howarth, the Minister for International Security Strategy, to raise those issues personally with the Israeli Prime Minister on behalf of the British government and to consider visiting the military courts in any upcoming visit to the West Bank. Click here to read the transcript of the debate.
• On 15 December, the EU-Israel Subcommittee on Political Dialogue and Cooperation held a meeting in Jerusalem during which the EU notably stressed its concerns about Israel’s treatment of human rights defenders as well as the detention and interrogation conditions of Palestinian children. The Palestinian Council of Human Rights Organizations wrote a letter to the EU chair of the meeting, the Middle East Director of the European Commission’s External Relations Directorate General, on 9 December, calling on the EU to reject deceptive notions of a temporary settlement “freeze” and instead insist on adherence to the fundamental principles of international law. During the meeting, the EU and Israel also decided to hold the EU-Israel Association Council (the highest level meeting between the two parties) on 21 February 2011.
• EU representatives continued to attend the court hearings of Abdallah Abu Rahma. At his 11 January sentencing the British Consul General and other diplomats from the European Union, the European Parliament, France, Denmark, Austria, Spain, Malta, Germany and Sweden were in attendance. A number of EU states condemned the sentence, with the French government issuing a statement on 11 January deploring the aggravation of Abdallah’s sentence from 12 to 18 months and calling on the Israeli authorities “to respect the legitimate right of the Palestinians to stage peaceful demonstrations”. Britain also expressed concern that the extension of Abdallah’s sentence “is intended to prevent Abdallah and other Palestinians from exercising their right to non violent protest against the annexation of Palestinian land to Israel”.
• On 15 March 2011, the European Parliament’s Sub-Committee on Human Rights will hold a hearing on the conditions of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli and Palestinian prisons. Addameer has submitted a briefing on Israeli prison conditions ahead of the meeting.

• Between 26 October and 5 November, Addameer undertook a speaking tour in Canada focusing on the criminalization of human rights defenders working to defend Palestinian human rights in the oPt and Israel. Addameer Program Manager Ala Jaradat spoke at Toronto, York, Ottawa, Carleton and McGill Universities among others. During the visit, Addameer also met with a number of officials from the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT), the Department of National Defense and the Canadian Forces, and the Department of Justice, as well as with Canadian members of parliament, to brief them on political arrests by Israel and the PA.
• On the second anniversary of the Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip, Addameer issued a statement calling attention to the 686 residents of Gaza held in Israeli prisons. Since June 2007, prisoners from Gaza have been denied family visits, a policy that was confirmed by the Israeli High Court of justice in December 2009. Addameer called on members of the international community to condemn this policy and intervene with the Israeli authorities to reverse the measure. Click here to read the statement.