Call for action: April 17th Palestinian Prisoners Day
International Solidarity Movement, Gaza
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]March 28, 2011[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) Gaza calls for a global day of action to draw attention to Palestinian political prisoners who are illegally detained in Israel. April 17th marks the Palestinian Prisoners Day, a day in commemoration of the 5834 Palestinians who are currently (as of February 1st, 2011) held in Israeli prisons. No less than 221 of them are children and 798 of them are serving life sentences.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]We call upon you to organize events on April 17th or during that week in your countries to oppose Israel’s numerous violations of human rights and international law concerning Palestinian prisoners.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Increase awareness, empower the public, pressure your local and national representatives to hold Israel to account, and demand the following:[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]* Stop child imprisonment![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]* No more administrative detentions in the West Bank![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial](These are detentions used to arrest human rights defenders and others requiring no official justification, holding them for 6 months without charge and which are frequently prolonged by a further 6 months)[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]* Halt the physical and psychological torture of prisoners![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]* Grant the right to Gazan prisoners to receive family visits![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Gazans in Israeli jails have not been allowed to receive visitors since June 2007.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Israel receives huge global publicity for Gilad Shalit, the sole Israeli prisoner that is currently held in Palestine, while the world remains largely silent about the 5834 Palestinians that are incarcerated in Israel. They and their families remain anonymous and lifeless in the Western media and political circles despite the huge number of people effected. While torture is common practice in Israeli prisons, Israeli governmental authorities instantly threaten that the "sky will fall" if Shalit is harmed.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]"Of course, there is torture in prison. But it is not the worst, physical wounds heal. The psychological torment is much more severe. The guards would wake us up in the middle of the night and get us out of our cells, while they trample the Holy Koran and steal our most personal possessions like letters and pictures", says a man who was recently released.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]As ISM Gaza we especially want to draw attention to the case of Gazan prisoners. Since June 2007, Israel has banned all Gazans from visiting their relatives incarcerated in Israel. The 676 Gazans that are currently imprisoned in Israel have therefore not received a single visitor for nearly four years. Gaza detainees, many of whom are held indefinitely without trial, have since been in virtual isolation, as they are generally not allowed to communicate through phone or over the internet, and are only occasionally allowed to send out a letter to their families.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Because Gazan prisoners are denied family visits, they also have restricted access to basic necessities in prison – such as clothing and money – as visits are often the prisoners’ sole means of accessing these items. Lawyers are prohibited from transferring money to a prisoner and the Israeli Prisoners’ Service insist that only relatives may transfer money, which is obviously impossible.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]We are in touch with local organizations and have family members and ex-prisoners that are willing to talk to you through a skype conference that we would be happy to set up with you.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Please contact ISM Gaza by emailing [email protected] for more detailed information.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Please ACT in the week of 17th April in the name of Palestinian men, women and children in Israeli prisons who have no voice and like all Palestinians, still have no justice.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]:: Article nr. 76309 sent on 28-mar-2011 20:04 ECT[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial][FONT=Verdana,Arial]www.uruknet.info?p=76309[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Link: palsolidarity.org/2011/03/17230/[/FONT]
----------------------------
It's time to end the anonymity of Palestinian political prisoners
Monday, 28 March 2011 17:20
Nelson Mandela and Aung Suu Kyi are known worldwide as prisoners of conscience who have spent lengthy periods in prison for standing up for their beliefs. South African political prisoner and later President Mandela spent 27 years in prison, many of them in solitary confinement; Aung San Suu Kyi, a political prisoner in Burma, spent almost 15 years under house arrest. Their time imprisoned was well publicised over the years and an international movement of supporters campaigned endlessly for their release.
In stark contrast, there is near silence from the international community on the 133 Palestinian political prisoners who have been held in Israeli jails for two decades or more. They have endured unjust trials and harsh prison conditions; they receive inadequate medical and psychological care, and many are in solitary confinement. Most of these prisoners were detained as young boys and young men and have reached their late 30s and 40s having spent their entire adult life in prison, with little or no contact with their loved ones and the outside world.
The Middle East Monitor will be profiling 25 of these Palestinian prisoners over the coming weeks, bringing an end to their anonymity and highlighting the injustices that these men and their families face at the hands of the state of Israel.
Wael Salih al Barghuthi - Imprisoned 4-4-1978 - View Profile
Fakhri Asfour al Barghuthi - Imprisoned 23-6-1978
Akram Mansour - Imprisoned 2-8-1979
Fuad Qasim al Razim - Imprisoned 30-1-1981
Ibrahim Jabir - Imprisoned 8-1-1982
Hasan Salameh - Imprisoned 8-8-1982
Uthman Musleh - Imprisoned 15-10-1982
Sami Yunus - Imprisoned 1983
Karim Yunus - Imprisoned 1983
Maher Yunus - Imprisoned 1983
Saleem Ali al Kayal - Imprisoned 30-5-1983
Hafiz Qundus - Imprisoned 15-5-1984
Eesa Abdu Rabbu - Imprisoned 20-10-1984
Ahmad Fareed Shahadeh - Imprisoned 16-2-1985
Muhammad Nasr - Imprisoned 11-5-1985
Rafe' Karajeh - Imprisoned 20-5-1985
Talal Abu al Kabash - Imprisoned 23-6-1985
Mustafa Ghunaymat - Imprisoned 27-6-1985
Ziyad Ghunaymat - Imprisoned 27-6-1985
Uthman Abdullah Bani Husayn - Imprisoned 27-7-1985
Haza' Muhammad Haza' Sa'adi - Imprisoned 28-7-1985
Siddqui Sulayman Ahmad al Maqt - Imprisoned 23-8-1985
Hani Badawi Muhammad Jaabir - Imprisoned 3-9-1985
Muhammad Ahmad Abdul Hameed al Tous - Imprisoned 6-10-1985
Nafiz Ahmad Talib Harz - Imprisoned 25-11-1985
Fa'iz Mutawi' al Khour - Imprisoned 29-11-1985
Ghazi Jumu'ah al Nams - Imprisoned 30-11-1985
Muhammad Misbah Ashour - Imprisoned 18-2-1986
Ahmad Abdur Rahman Abu Hasireh - Imprisoned 18-2-1986
Muhammad Abdul Hadi al Hassani - Imprisoned 4-3-1986
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/...ical-prisoners
-------------------------------------
Palestinian detainees announce hunger strike
Ma'an news
[FONT=Verdana,Arial][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]March 28, 2011[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]RAMALLAH (Ma’an) -- Palestinian detainees in five prisons in Israel announced a hunger strike Monday in protest over their treatment. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Prisoners held in Israel's Nafha, Raymon, Eshel, Ashkelon and Negev prisons will participate in the strike to demand an end to abuse by prison guards, a prisoners' center said.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]The detainees were also demanding that Israeli prison authorities stopped the practice of solitary confinement, the center added.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]The center called on human rights organizations to intervene on behalf of political prisoners, noting that many Palestinians had died in Israeli custody.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]:: Article nr. 76320 sent on 29-mar-2011 09:47 ECT[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial][FONT=Verdana,Arial]www.uruknet.info?p=76320[/FONT]
[/FONT]
[/FONT]