ADALAH PRESS RELEASE

13 May 2010

(Haifa, Israel) Yesterday, Wednesday
12 May 2010, the Petah Tikvah Magistrate Court held two separate hearings on
requests by the General Security Services (GSS or Shabak) to extend the
detention of Arab political activists, Ameer Makhoul, who is also a human
rights defender and the director of the Arab NGO network in Israel, ?Ittijah,?
and Dr. Omar Saeed, who also runs a leading company in natural medicine. 

In the case of Dr. Saeed, the GSS
asked for an extension of detention for eight days, while in the case of Mr.
Makhoul, they requested 12 days. Both hearings took place behind close doors;
the public was barred from the hearings. Since the prohibition on meeting with
lawyers was lifted in the case of Dr. Saeed, he was present at his hearing;
however, because Mr. Makhoul is still under prohibition of meeting with
lawyers, the hearing was conducted without his presence. The court extended the
detention of Dr. Saeed until Sunday 17 May; a further hearing will be held on
that date at 10 am, unless he is released prior to 17 May. The court extended
Mr. Makhoul?s detention until Monday 18 May; a further hearing will be held on
that date at 10 am. 

The state claims that Mr. Makhoul
and Dr. Saeed have been detained for security reasons. Mr. Makhoul has been
held in incommunicado detention since his arrest on Thursday 6 May. 

The defense team also submitted an
appeal yesterday 12 May before the Petah Tivah District Court against the
prohibition on meeting lawyers on Ameer Makhoul. This hearing was also held
behind closed doors, and due to the prohibition order, Ameer Makhoul was also
not present. The District Court rejected the appeal and the prohibition order
was extended until at least Friday 14 May. 

Sixteen days after his arrest on 24
April 2010, during which time he was subjected to continuous interrogation and
allowed a very limited amount of sleep, the GSS permitted Dr. Saeed to meet
with his lawyers. As noted in Adalah?s press release dated 10 May 2010, Dr.
Saeed emphasized that he stated during all of his investigation that he has
never been recruited to or worked for any organization, defined as a terrorist
organization by the State of Israel, and he has never had any contact with such
organization. 

Both Ameer Makhoul and Dr. Omar
Saeed are represented by the defense team of Attorney Hussein Abu Hussein, and
Adalah Attorneys Orna Kohn and Hassan Jabareen. 

For more information on the cases,
see:

http://www.adalah.org/eng/pressreleases/pr.php?file=10_05_10