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| Hana' Mother Carrying Her Picture |
The Palestinian Minister of Detainees, Issa Qaraqie, announced today that his ministry is organizing an international campaign against Israeli administrative detentions, and their ill-treatment of Palestinian political detainees held in Israeli jails.
“This campaign an open invitation to all human-right groups and supporters of the Palestinian cause, governmental or non-governmental associations, to sign a petition that calls for pressuring the Israeli occupation to end its policy of administrative detention, since it's illegal under international law and inhuman practice.” Qaraqie told the IMEMC on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons said on Thursday that they are going to boycott Israeli military courts in protest of administrative detention orders, and the ill-treatment by their captors.
The recent developments come as political detainee, Hana Ash-Shalabi, entered her 15th day of hunger striking. Ash-Shalabi was arrested at her home on February 16 by Israeli troops. She is protesting the army order of holding her under Administrative Detention for six months.
“Hana is losing a lot of weight; she can barley stand. I hold the Egyptian mediators of the prisoner-swap deal responsible for the wellbeing of my daughter,” Yihiya Ash-Shalabi, Hana’s father told the IMEMC on Thursday from the protest tent outside his home in the village of Borqeen, near the northern West Bank city of Jenin.
Ash-Shalabi was released last October after spending two years under Israeli administrative detention. Her release came as part of the Egyptian mediated prisoner-swap deal between Palestinian groups and Israel.
Israel uses Administrative Detention to hold Palestinians without charges, a sentence that could amount to years in some cases. Ayman Karajja is a researcher for Al Dameer association for human rights. He explained to the IMEMC the workings of Administrative Detention.
“Basically, administrative detention orders deprive the defendant and the lawyers the right to refute the charges because there are no charges presented by the military prosecutor,” Karajja stated. He added that “The file is usually inaccessible by the lawyers under the pretext of being classified. The court justifies the secrecy of the files as a high security need of the occupying state.”
There are 4,500 Palestinians that are currently being held by Israeli as political detainees, 300 of whom are under administrative detention.
Ash-Shalabi is following the footsteps of detainee Adnan Khader, who reached a near death condition and organ failure after 66 days on hunger strike, also protesting his illegal detention. Khader ended his strike last month after Israel pledged to release him in April.
http://www.imemc.org/article/63089
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