[News] Palestinian Political Prisoners in Israeli Prisons Begin Hunger Strike
News at freedomarchives.org
News at freedomarchives.org
Fri Aug 13 08:58:52 EDT 2004
Campaign for the Rights of Political Prisoners
Palestinian Political Prisoners in Israeli Prisons Begin Hunger Strike
To all Friends and Supporters of Human Rights around the World:
The Committee for the Families of Political Prisoners and Detainees in the
West Bank, representing 7,500 political prisoners currently in Israeli
prisons, is seeking the support of the international community in its
campaign against the gross violations of their rights that the prisoners
are enduring and against the appalling conditions under which they are
being detained.
Political prisoners in Israeli prisons will be commencing a hunger strike
on Sunday, August 15, 2004 to protest their conditions. They complain that
the conditions they experience are reminiscent of the former Abu Ghoraib
facility in Iraq which gained worldwide notoriety recently for its
treatment of detainees.
When informed by the prisoners of their intended hunger strike prison
authorities responded with harsher treatment, vowing not to give in to any
of the prisoners' demands even if the hunger strikes result in the deaths
of prisoners.
Some of the conditions that the prisoners are protesting include:
Arbitrary and indiscriminate beating of prisoners in their cells,
in prison courtyards and during transportation to and from prisons.
Arbitrary and indiscriminate firing of tear gas into prisoner’s
cells and prison courtyards and intimidation of prisoners by guards
entering their cells with guns.
Humiliating strip searches of prisoners in full view of other
prisoners and guards each time they enter or exit their cells
Subjecting prisoners to solitary confinement for excessive periods
of time, for months and even years.
Arbitrary imposition of financial penalties on prisoners for minor
infractions, arbitrary revocation of visitation rights and extended
confinement to cells as punishment for minor infractions such as singing or
speaking too loudly
Confining children with adult prisoners and political prisoners
with criminals
Withholding or delaying medical treatment and the provision of
medication to sick detainees
Severely restricting the category of family members entitled to
visit prisoners thus denying visitation rights to other close family members
Arbitrary denial of travel permits to family members of prisoners
living in the West Bank or Gaza so that they cannot travel to prisons to
see their relatives
Imposing conditions on travel for family members and obstacles that
result in travel of a few hours being prolonged to 16 or 17 hours for a
45-minute visit
Conducting humiliating strip searches of visiting family members
even though they are usually separated from the prisoners by a full glass
barrier as well as a wire mesh barrier.
Providing such poor visitation facilities that prisoners find it
difficult to see or hear their loved ones
Maintaining prisoners on near starvation diets that are
insufficient to sustain health.
Applying rules concerning items that prisoners may receive from
their families arbitrarily and inconsistently, on the whim of the guards,
with each visit.
Withdrawing studying privileges that in the past allowed prisoners
to continue their high school or university studies through correspondence
courses
The treatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israel violates both
international and Israeli laws, as well as rules governing the
administration of Israeli prisons. The Committee for the Families is
planning a series of activities in the West Bank to coincide with the start
of the hunger strike on August 15th. A press conference in Ramallah will
kick off the campaign. Hunger strike solidarity tents will be set up in the
centre of all the cities in the West Bank and in all the Red Cross Centres
and will be occupied by the public around the clock for as long as the
prisoners’ strike lasts. The Palestinian Prime Minister’s office has
declared August 18th a National Day for Prisoners for all Palestinians to
show solidarity with the prisoners. All government ministers, members of
the Palestinian National Council and heads of all political parties will
join the public in the Solidarity Tents and fast in support of the prisoners.
Other planned activities are: On Friday, August 20, after Juma prayers at
mosques processions will march towards the Solidarity Tents. On Saturday,
August 21st, Palestinians in various Israeli cities will march, together
with other supporters, to the prisons where Palestinian political prisoners
are being held and on Sunday, August 22, after church services processions
will march to the Solidarity Tents. These processions will be held every
weekend during the campaign. On August 23rd children of the prisoners will
lead a procession. On August 25th all professionals involved in the Justice
system in Palestine will congregate at the Solidarity Tents in their
official legal gowns and will lead a procession to the centre of their
cities. On August 26th the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, Arun Gandhi, will
lead a mass procession in Ramallah. On August 29th all members of the
public are invited to join the open hunger strike and in the evening
candlelight processions will be held.
The families of the Palestinian political prisoners plead with you, the
members of the international community, to join in solidarity with our
sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters who are being held
in Israeli prisons by organizing an International Day of Solidarity with
Palestinian Prisoners on September 4, 2004. We ask you to demonstrate,
march, hold silent vigils or activities to publicize the plight of the
political prisoners and bring pressure on the government of Israel to cease
these violations of law and to treat Palestinian prisoners as human beings
entitled to basic human rights.
We ask that you also register your protests by letter, fax, email, or
telephone to the officials listed below. Ask them to stop the harsh
treatment of Palestinian political prisoners and to accede to the demands
of the striking prisoners so that the conditions under which they are
imprisoned are consistent with international norms of human rights and
basic decency.
Also, please register your protest with your own political representatives
and government ministers.
Please send a copy of your protest message to
<mailto:alhureih at yahoo.com>alhureih at yahoo.com Messages of support from
organizations would also be appreciated by the prisoners and their
families. Please send them to the same address with some details of the
organization. For more information visit our temporary website at
<http://www.palsolidarity.org/prisoners>www.palsolidarity.org/prisoners or
telephone (972) 2 277 4602 or email:
<mailto:info at palsolidarity.org>info at palsolidarity.org
With much appreciation for your valued support,
Mahmoud Ziadi, General Secretariat,
Families of Palestinian Political Prisoners
PO Box 2151, Ramallah, Palestine.
List of Israeli government officials:
Prime Minister, Ariel
Sharon Minister of Defense,
Shaul Mofaz
Office of the Prime
Minister Ministry of
Defense, 37 Kaplan St.
3 Kaplan St. PO Box
187 Tel Aviv 61909,
Israel
Jerusalem 91919, Israel Fax:
+972-3-6962757 / -691 7915
Telegram: Prime Minister, Jerusalem Israel email:
<mailto:sar at mod.gov.il>sar at mod.gov.il or
Fax: +972 2
6705475
pniot at mod.gov.il
email:<mailto:pm_eng at pmo.gov.il>pm_eng at pmo.gov.il
Minister of Justice, Yosef
Lapid Minister of Interior Security
Ministry of
Justice
Tzahi Haneghi
29 Salah al-Din
St.
Kiryat Hamemshala, POB 18182
Jerusalem 91010,
Israel Jerusalem
91181
Telegram: Justice Minister, Jerusalem Israel Tel:
972-2-5309999 Fax: 2-5847872
Fax: +972 2 6285492 email:
<mailto:sar at justice.gov.il>sar at justice.gov.il email:
sar at mops.gov.il
Addresses of Israeli embassies worldwide can be found at
<http://www.embassyworld.com/embassy/isreal1.htm>www.embassyworld.com/embassy/isreal1.htm
or go to the Government of Israel website at
<http://www.info.gov.il/FirstGov/>www.info.gov.il/FirstGov/
The Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 863-9977
www.freedomarchives.org
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