[Ppnews] Sa'adat transferred to isolated Nafha prison in Naqab desert

[Political Prisoner News]

URGENT: Sa'adat transferred to isolated Nafha prison in Naqab desert


The secretary general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of 
Palestine, Ahmad Sa'adat, appeared today, 18/11/2007, in the military 
court in 'Ofer, for another hearing in the case against him. It is 
the first time he was seen in public after his recent deportation to 
the Nafha Prison, and it was a chance for him to make it clear why he 
was deported. The Israeli prison authorities sent him to the remote 
Nafha prison in the Naqab desert as part of an ongoing campaign to 
attempt to isolate the Palestinian resistance and to attack all those 
Palestinians who reject U.S./Israeli dictates, and to punish Ahmad 
Sa'adat for his position against the Annapolis conference. Physical 
conditions at Nafha are harsh and it will be very difficult for his 
family and his lawyers to meet with him.

In spite of this suffering, Ahmad Sa'adat didn't hesitate to seize on 
the opportunity of his appearance at the court to state again his 
firm position against the Annapolis Conference. As he was brought in, 
he immediately stated in a loud voice, calling on the Palestinian 
People not to give any faith to this "autumn conference", and beware 
the goals behind it: To market the American policy, force the Arab 
regimes to normalize relations with Israel, continue the dealing with 
the Palestinian situation from the point of view of "Israeli security 
first", perpetuation of the internal Palestinian divisions and give 
political cover to the belligerent Israeli policy of siege and 
expropriation against the Palestinian people.

He continued to call on Abu Mazen (the Palestinian President) not to 
take a one-sided decision to participate in the conference, as any 
decision should be taken by the whole Palestinian people, and as 
national unity was the only way to defend the suffering Palestinian 
people. These last sentences were barely audible; the security guards 
in the military court hurried to stand in front of him and throw the 
television crew of Al- Jazeera out of the courtroom, in an attempt to 
prevent Sa'adat's voice from reaching the media.

The court's hearing itself was very short. Only one witness was 
brought, and he refused to answer most of the prosecutor's questions. 
He only said he was sentenced for membership of the Popular Front for 
the Liberation of Palestine, and, yes, he knew Ahmad Sa'adat as the 
secretary general of the front. His only connection to Ahmad Sa'adat 
was that he visited him several times while Sa'adat was held by the 
Palestinian Authority in the Jericho Prison. Ahmad Sa'adat and his 
lawyer, Mahmud Hassan from Addameer, continue to boycott the court 
procedures, so there was no cross examination. The Military Judges 
frowned at the young officer that appeared for the prosecution for 
wasting their time. They called on the prosecution to reconsider its 
policy of bringing witnesses who add nothing to the case.

Other witnesses were also called to give evidence today, but as they 
were all since freed from the Israeli prisons, they did not come and 
it seemed that the prosecutors had no way to force them to attend or 
testify. The next court hearing was set for Sunday, November 25, 2007.

Report from: Solidarity Campaign with Saadat & his comrades

TAKE ACTION: Please join us in calling upon international human 
rights organizations to pay close attention to the case of Ahmad 
Sa'adat and demand an end to the persecution of Sa'adat and demand 
his immediate freedom. Go to 
<http://www.freeahmadsaadat.org/>http://www.freeahmadsaadat.org/ and 
click on "Take Action!"




-- 

Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa'adat
<http://www.freeahmadsaadat.org/>http://www.freeahmadsaadat.org



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