[Pnews] Palestine - Administrative Detention of Shaher Al-Rai Renewed on Day of Scheduled Release

[Prisoner News]

http://www.addameer.org/news/administrative-detention-shaher-al-rai-renewed-day-scheduled-release 



  Administrative Detention of Shaher Al-Rai Renewed on Day of Scheduled
  Release

<http://www.addameer.org/printpdf/2490>

26 October 2016

Israeli forces have renewed the administrative detention of Shaher 
Al-Rai – imprisoned without charge or trial - on the day of his 
scheduled release (25 October 2016), after Mr. Al Rai had already packed 
his personal items, said goodbye to his fellow prisoners and detainees 
and even reached the prison’s exit. Mr. Al-Rai, 46-year-old, from 
Qalqilya, was arrested on 3 June 2015 during a late-night raid on his 
home. Al-Rai was ordered to six months in administrative detention, the 
order was renewed in December 2015, renewed again in May 2016 and was 
further renewed yesterday, 25 October 2016.

Al-Rai had been arrested seven times including three periods in 
administrative detention; his wife Manal told Addameer that though they 
have been married for 25 years, they have lived together for a total of 
only five years. Manal also told us that they were shocked when they 
heard the news about the administrative detention renewal. She said, 
they were on their way to pick Mr. Al-Rai up, but were informed that he 
will not be released. “It a shock for all of us, especially his youngest 
son Kanaan (5-year-old), who started heavily crying in distress” – Manal 
told Addameer. Manal and Shaher have three children: Jarrah, 24, a 
physiotherapist; Wajla, 20, a law student in Algeria; and Kanaan, 5.

The case of Al-Rai shows how administrative detention may amount to 
psychological torture as the detainee is subjected to detention without 
fair trial guarantees, as well as the indefinite nature of the 
detention, where orders can be renewed every six months, indefinitely – 
based on secret information. This results in developing feelings of 
helplessness and lack of control associated with this experience, which 
causes psychological and mental torture of the detainee and his or her 
family. Extension of the administrative detention period severely 
increases the psychological suffering of the detainee. Once the detainee 
and his or her family members are expecting release, the Israeli 
authorities often renew the detention order  for up to six additional 
months, still without putting forth any charges.

Al- Rai’s case exemplify many of the legal cases pursued by Addameer, 
where individuals spend years in prison after being sentenced for 
committing violations, in accordance with Israeli military orders. When 
the period ends, however, rather than being released, many are 
immediately placed under administrative detention under the pretext that 
they still pose a threat to security. Palestinian detainees have spent 
up to a decade cumulatively in administrative detention without charge 
or trial. This experience of administrative detention is undoubtedly 
severely devastating, and impacts the overall psychological health of 
administrative detainees and their families.

Addameer affirms the concluding observations of the United Nations 
Committee Against Torture (CAT), 13 May 2016, which called on the 
Israeli government to “[t]ake the measures necessary to end the practice 
of administrative detention and ensure that all persons who are 
currently held in administrative detention are afforded all basic legal 
safeguards.” Thus, Addameer calls upon the international community to 
push the Israeli government to end the use of administrative detention. 
Addameer further calls for administrative detention to be recognized as 
a form of psychological torture that should be prohibited in line with 
the Convention Against Torture’s non-derogable prohibition.

-- 
Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415 
863.9977 www.freedomarchives.org
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