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<font size=3>Years of solitary confinement in Israeli jails: a lawyer is
able to meet with several prisoners <br><br>
<a href="http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1269" eudora="autourl">
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1269<br>
<br>
</a>(Jenin) Ali Samoudi <br>
Friday, 22 December 2006 <br><br>
Lawyer Shadi Younis reports that the sanitary conditions and the state of
detention for Palestinian political prisoners in solitary confinement in
Israeli prisons is deteriorating. He was speaking of many political
prisoners, including leaders from the Hamas party who were arrested upon
winning office in the Legislative Council elections held on 25 January
2006 and those who were arrested before that time. <br><br>
Younis said, “The policies and practices of the prison administration,
which took away all rights from the detainees, deprived them of visits
and isolated them absolutely from the outside world, are deplorable.”
<br><br>
Younis issued an appeal on behalf of the political prisoners for
intervention from humanitarian institutions. He is asking for
international action and pressure to be applied to the Israeli
authorities to at least provide medical care. <br><br>
The lawyer was able to meet with four “life sentence” Palestinians in
solitary confinement in Jalboua. In several prisons he met with political
prisoners from Jerusalem, Hebron, Jenin, Ramallah and even Jordan.
<br><br>
Younis expressed serious concern for the life of Sheikh Jamal Abu Al Hija
from Jenin Refugee Camp. The Israeli military court sentenced him to nine
times life. Younis reported, “Sheikh Jamal lives in complete isolation in
solitary in Askelon Prison. He cannot care for himself as his hand was
amputated after being shot, and the administration refuses to allow other
prisoners to help him and refuses to allow him treatment, despite the
deterioration of his health and the need for several surgeries.” It has
been four years since the Israeli administration has allowed the Sheikh's
family to visit him and his solitary confinement sentence has been
renewed for another year. “This contravenes international laws and
conventions,” the lawyer Shadi Younis said. <br><br>
Younis met with Mahmoud Issa from Jerusalem in a detention facility where
he has been in solitary confinement for five years. Another man from the
northern West Bank's Tubas said that the abuse handed out by the Israeli
administration has led to abysmal conditions, including health-wise, and
in the most basic rights, particularly, the Tubas man said, in the
provision of basic needs. <br><br>
The lawyer is also calling on the Red Cross to get the political
prisoners removed from solitary confinement.<br><br>
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