PCHR Calls upon the International Community to Save the Life of the Palestinian Detainee, Khader Adnan, Who Is on Hunger Strike
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) is concerned for the
life of Khader Adnan, a detainee in Israeli jails, who has been on hunger
strike for more than two months. PCHR calls upon the international
community to pressurize Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) to release Adnan, who
has been placed under administrative detention without trial.
Khader Adnan has been on a hunger strike since 18 December 2011,
one day after his arrest by IOF, in protest to the inhuman detention conditions
under which he is held. Adnan had been placed under administrative detention
more than once in the past. Since he
started the hunger strike, the Israeli Prison Service refused his demands and
rejected his release. He appeared before Israeli courts more than once, and the
order of administrative detention issued against him was upheld. On 13 February 2012, the Israeli military
court rejected an appeal filed by the Palestinian Prisoner Club Society,
upholding the order of administrative detention.
Adnan is currently receiving medical treatment at Rebecca Seiff
Hospital in Safed in the north of Israel.
According to a physician from the Israeli Physicians for Human Rights,
as of 15 February 2012, Adnan’s life is endangered because of his continued
hunger strike, which has caused erosion of his muscles, including the muscles
of heart and stomach. The internal medicine physician, who checked him five
times last week, stressed that Adnan’s body started to release poisons, which
in light of the severe weakness of his immunity system makes more likely that
he may be subjected to a sudden heart attack. The same physician noted that
abstention from having food for more than 70 days inevitably leads to
death.
Khader Adnan Mohammed Mousa, 33, from ‘Arraba village near Jenin,
who is married and a father of two children, was arrested by IOF on 17 December
2011. The following day, he declared an open hunger strike. On 31 December
2011, he was transferred from al-Jalama interrogation center to al-Ramla
Prison. An order was issued placing him under administrative detention for 4
months on 08 January 2012. A month later, on 06 February 2012, an Israeli judge
approved the administrative detention order issued by the military commander,
claiming that confidential information indicated that Khader Adnan is extremely
dangerous. Ultimately, on 13 February 2012, the appeal judge of Oufar Military
Court refused to order Adnan’s release and upheld the administrative detention
order.
During this period, Adnan and his attorney have not been informed
of the charges directed against him. The Israeli prosecution provided the court
with the charges against Adnan under the item of confidential information,
which constitutes evidence of the arbitrariness of the way administrative
detention policy is practiced by IOF against Palestinian detainees.
Adnan’s case highlights the conditions of more than 300
Palestinians who are currently placed under administrative detention in Israeli
prisons and detention facilities, including the Speaker and 19 Members of the
Palestinian Legislative Council. These actions are in violation of the right of
a detainee to fair trial, including the right to receive appropriate defense
and to be informed of charges against him. Administrative detention is applied
by an administrative order only without referring to a court, thus violating
the standards of impartial judicial procedures, including fair trial.
PCHR is concerned for the life of Khader Adnan, who has been
detained in Israeli jails, and:
1. Calls upon
the international community to pressurize IOF to release him to avoid risking
his life;
2. Reiterates
its call for the international community to stop systematic serious abuses
against Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons and detention facilities;
3. Emphasizes
that Israel’s use of the administrative detention regime violates international
law and falls under the category of political arrests, constituting a violation
of the detainee’s right to a fair trial, including his right to receive an adequate
defense and to be informed of the charges against him.
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Other PCHR Release :
– Urgent Call for Action 20 February 2012
– PCHR Holds
Urgent Consultative Meeting Addressing the Case of Palestinian Detainee in
Israeli Jails, Khader Adnan, Who Is on Hunger Strike. 14 February 2012
– PCHR
Concerned for the Life of Palestinian Detainee in Israeli Jails Who Has Been on
Hunger Strike for about 45 Days. 31 January 2012