[Ppnews] Amnesty calls for urgent action to protest administrative detention of Palestinian academic

[Political Prisoner News]

Ismael Mohamad / United Press International


Amnesty calls for urgent action to protest 
administrative detention of Palestinian academic

Submitted by maureen on Wed, 03/07/2012 - 02:34

http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen/amnesty-calls-urgent-action-protest-administrative-detention-palestinian-academic 


The human rights organization 
<http://electronicintifada.net/tags/amnesty-international>Amnesty 
International issued an urgent appeal today 
regarding the renewed administrative detention 
order against Palestinian writer 
<http://electronicintifada.net/tags/ahmad-qatamesh>Ahmad Qatamesh.

<http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen/israel-issues-third-consecutive-detention-order-against-prisoner-conscience-ahmad>Last 
week I blogged that Israel had issued its third 
consecutive order to detain Qatamesh without 
charge or trial ­ a practice known as 
<http://electronicintifada.net/tags/administrative-detention>administrative 
detention.

The Palestinian writer and academic has been held 
without charge since 21 April 2011, when Israeli 
soldiers raided his family’s West Bank home, 
holding his family members hostage at gunpoint 
until Qatamesh, who was not home at the time, 
surrendered himself. Qatamesh was held by Israel 
for more than five years without charge or trial 
during the 1990s, causing him to miss important 
years of his young daughter’s life.

In its appeal today, Amnesty International says 
that the renewed detention order against Qatamesh 
will be reviewed by a military judge in the 
coming days, meaning that urgent action is crucial.

Amnesty also says that Qatamesh refused to enter 
the military court during a hearing on 5 March, 
stating his rejection of the military court 
process. Qatamesh’s wife and lawyer say that 
Qatamesh “has been interrogated for no more than 
a total of ten minutes” by Israeli authorities.


Israel’s strategy to “put pressure” on PFLP

The alert also states that it is Amnesty’s 
assessment that Qatamesh is a prisoner of 
conscience being held by Israel because of his 
political writing and mentorship of left-wing 
students and activists, some of whom may be 
associated with the leftist party 
<http://electronicintifada.net/tags/pflp>Popular 
Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

According to Amnesty, “As such, his detention may 
be part of the Israeli authorities’ strategy to 
put pressure on the PFLP organisation.”

The secretary general of the PFLP, 
<http://electronicintifada.net/tags/ahmad-saadat>Ahmad 
Saadat, is currently held in solitary confinement 
by Israel after he was kidnapped by Israeli 
forces from a Palestinian Authority prison near 
Jericho in the occupied West Bank in 2006 (Saadat 
was detained there for four years without being 
convicted of a crime). Saadat had been elected 
general secretary of the PFLP after Israel 
extrajudicially executed his predecessor, Abu Ali 
Mustafa, in his Ramallah home in 2001.

<http://electronicintifada.net/content/interview-addameers-mourad-jadallah-hunger-strikes-reignite-prisoner-movement/11013>In 
an interview with The Electronic Intifada 
contributor Asa Winstanley last week, Mourad 
Jadallah of the Prisoner rights group 
<http://electronicintifada.net/tags/addameer>Addameer 
noted that Israel had undertaken a campaign of 
mass arrests of PFLP-affiliated activists after 
Ahmad Saadat and other PFLP activists 
<http://electronicintifada.net/content/interview-hunger-strikes-created-new-sense-solidarity/10594>led 
a hunger strike in Israeli prisons last year.

Amnesty International’s full action alert follows:


URGENT ACTION
ACADEMIC RECEIVES THIRD DETENTION ORDER

Palestinian academic Ahmad Qatamesh received a 
new six-month administrative detention order on 1 
March. He has been held without charge or trial since 21 April 2011.

Ahmad Qatamesh was given a third administrative 
detention order on 1 March, the day that his 
second administrative detention order was due to 
expire. At the judicial review of the order, 
which took place on 5 March 2012, the military 
prosecutor sought the confirmation of the order 
by the military judge. It is expected that the 
military judge will confirm the detention order in the coming days.

Ahmad Qatamesh, together with other 
administrative detainees at Ofer prison in the 
occupied West Bank, have declared that they do 
not recognize the legitimacy of the military 
courts and administrative detention procedures, 
and have refused to attend judicial hearings. 
Because the judicial review normally takes place 
in the presence of the detainee, the prosecution 
insisted that Ahmad Qatamesh be brought to the 
court room on 5 March 2012. He again reiterated 
his rejection of the military court process and 
immediately returned to his cell.

According to both his wife and his lawyer, Ahmad 
Qatamesh has been interrogated for no more than a 
total of 10 minutes by Israel Security Agency 
(ISA) officers, who alleged that he was a member 
of the political office of a leftist Palestinian 
party which has an armed wing: the Popular Front 
for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). While 
Ahmad Qatamesh was a political and intellectual 
supporter of the PFLP in the 1990s, he says he 
has not been involved with them for 13 years. To 
Amnesty International’s knowledge, he has never 
been involved with PFLP-affiliated armed groups 
or advocated violence. His latest work focuses on 
political solutions that put an end to the 
violent conflict between Israelis and 
Palestinians, which he calls a “nightmare”.

It is Amnesty International’s assessment that the 
reasons for Ahmad Qatamesh’s arrest and continued 
administrative detention are his peaceful 
expression, in his writing and teaching, of 
non-violent political views and the fact that he 
is considered a mentor for left-wing students and 
political activists, some of whom may be 
affiliated to the PFLP. As such, his detention 
may be part of the Israeli authorities’ strategy 
to put pressure on the PFLP organisation. 
Therefore, Amnesty International considers him to 
be a prisoner of conscience and is calling for 
his immediate and unconditional release.

Please write immediately in Hebrew or your own 
language: - Expressing concern that Ahmad 
Qatamesh is a prisoner of conscience, detained 
solely for the peaceful exercise of his right to 
freedom of expression, and calling for his 
immediate and unconditional release; - Calling on 
the authorities to end the use of administrative detention.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 17 APRIL 2012 TO:

Military Judge Advocate General Major General 
Avihai Mandelblit 6 David Elazar Street Hakirya, 
Tel Aviv, Israel Fax: +972 3 569 4526 Email: 
<mailto:avimn at idf.gov.il>avimn at idf.gov.il 
Salutation: Dear Judge Advocate General

Commander of the IDF - West Bank

Major-General Avi Mizrahi GOC Central Command 
Military Post 01149 Battalion 877 Israel Defense 
Forces, Israel Fax: +972 2 530 5724 Salutation: Dear Major-General Avi Mizrahi

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence 
Ehud Barak Ministry of Defence 37 Kaplan Street, 
Hakirya Tel Aviv 61909, Israel Fax: + 972 3 69 
16940 / +972 3 691 7915 Salutation: Dear Minister

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country.





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