[Pnews] Mass Hunger-Strike Launched by Palestinian ‘Administrative Detainees’

[Prisoner News]

  Mass Hunger-Strike Launched by Palestinian ‘Administrative Detainees’

/Occupied Ramallah, 24 April 2014 /–
http://www.addameer.org/etemplate.php?id=674

Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association can confirm the 
launch of a mass open-ended hunger strike involving over 100 Palestinian 
political detainees. All those involved are being held under 
administrative detention, which is a procedure whereby detainees are 
held without charge or trial.

Today’s hunger strike can be traced back to May 2012 when an agreement 
was reached between the Israeli Prison Service and representatives of 
the prisoners, which brought an end to a mass hunger strike involving 
approximately 2,000 political prisoners. As part of this agreement 
Israel agreed to limit its use of administrative detention to only 
exceptional circumstances. However, since then Israel has reneged on the 
agreement and has continued to use administrative detention on a 
systematic basis leaving the detainees with little choice but to launch 
a fresh strike.

The strike is currently taking place in Ofer, Megiddo and the Naqab 
Prisons and there are plans to escalate the strike should the striking 
detainee’s demands not be met. The general demand of the hunger strikers 
is an end to the use of administrative detention. The hunger strikers 
are also specifically demanding that extensions to administrative 
detention orders are limited to one extension only.
As of 1 March 2014 there were 183 Palestinians being held without charge 
or trial under administrative detention, including 9 Palestinian 
Legislative Council (PLC) members. This number has been steadily 
increasing over the last year. In 2014 alone, Israel has used 
administrative detention against 142 detainees, including renewing 
existing orders and issuing new orders.
Addameer lawyer Samer Sama’an today visited a number of administrative 
detainees, including PLC member Yasser Mansour, at the Naqab Prison. It 
was confirmed that 55 administrative detainees being held in the Naqab 
Prison have launched a hunger-strike. All striking detainees were 
immediately isolated by the Israeli Prison Service from the rest of the 
prison population and are currently being held in tents.
As mentioned administrative detainees are held without charge are trial. 
They are detained on completely 'secret evidence’ and neither they nor 
their lawyers have access to such evidence. Some detainees have spent 
over eight years in prison, never knowing what was contained in the 
'secret evidence’. While administrative detention is legal under 
international law, it must be used in very specific circumstance and on 
a case-by-case basis. This is clearly not the case given Israel has used 
administrative detention against tens of thousands of Palestinians.
In another development Mr. Sama’man reported that prisoners and 
detainees being held at the Naqab Prison wishing to meet their lawyers 
are forced to
wait for long periods of time in tiny cells which lack any sort of 
ventilation. As a result many are choosing not to meet with their 
lawyers due to the humiliating procedures that the Israeli Prison 
Service has imposed on them.
Addameer holds the Israeli authorities solely responsible for the health 
of all hunger strikers. Addameer also demands that all contracting 
parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention pressure Israel to immediately 
release all administrative detainees and cease the use of administrative 
detention. Furthermore, Addameer calls on global civil society to 
mobilize without delay in support of the striking detainees and 5,000 
Palestinian political prisoners currently being held in Israeli prisons.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
For more information please see Addameer’s recent administrative 
detention factsheet 
<http://www.addameer.org/files/Administrative%20Detention%20Summary.pdf> 
and visit www.stopadcampaign.com 
<file:///C:/Users/Clea/Desktop/24.04.14%20Statement/www.stopadcampaign.com>
-- 
Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415 
863.9977 www.freedomarchives.org
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