Ref: 18/2013

The delegation of Palestinian Centre for Human
Rights (PCHR), which consists of families of Palestinian prisoners, concluded
its international tour and traveled back to Gaza on 15 March 2013.

The delegation, which included 2 mothers of
Palestinian prisoners in the Israeli jails and 2 ex-prisoners who served
several years of imprisonment in Israeli jails, went in period of 10-13 March
2013, in their last destination in the international tour, to France where they
participated in a number of activities that aimed to internationalize the cause
of the Palestinian prisoners.  These
activities included a meeting with a group of French citizens on 10 March
2013.  During the meeting, they discussed
the living and detention conditions of Palestinian prisoners in the Israeli
jails.  They also addressed the
consequences of UN recognition of Palestine as a non-member state on the legal
status of the Palestinian prisoners.

On 11 March 2013, the delegation met with a
group of French citizens, who are members of solidarity associations in support
of the Palestinian people, in the presence of Claude Lefort, President of France-Palestine
Solidarity Association, and Flofia Kojini, Director of Relations and International
Cooperation in the Municipality of Nantes. 
The delegation screened during the meeting “Free in the Prison of Gaza”
film, which was produced by the 2 French directors, Chris Din Hond and Mary
Court, when they were in Gaza.  After the
screening, there was a broad discussion to address the suffering of the
Palestinian prisoners and their families.

On 12 March 2013, members of the delegation
gathered with Hayel al-Fahoum, the Palestinian Ambassador in Paris, and the
mothers of the prisoners reviewed the deteriorating conditions of their
detained sons calling upon the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to exert
more efforts towards internationalizing the cause of the Palestinian prisoners
and forcing Israel to adhere to international standards relevant to the
treatment of prisoners in prisons.  The
Palestinian Ambassador stressed the importance of the participation of families
of the Palestinian prisoners in the international events to present their
experiences and personal testimonies expressing his appreciation for the role
played by PCHR in this regard.

Mothers of the delegation also met with a
number of Arab women from the Maghreb countries as the mothers took about their
suffering that resulted from the continued detention of their sons in the
Israeli prisons under extremely brutal conditions and about being prevented for
years from visiting them. On the same day evening, the delegation met with
representatives of solidarity associations with the Palestinian people in the
hall of international undergraduate students’ complex.  The meeting was organized by the
Franc-Palestine Solidarity Association. 
During the meeting, members of the delegation presented their
experiences, testimonies and suffering related to the Israeli policy of
detention and accompanied violations.

The delegation started their international tour
in late February.  They participated in a
number of activities in Egypt, Switzerland and France; the prominent of which
was the delegation’s participation in the sessions of
the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) in the Palace of Nations in
Geneva.

It should be mentioned that PCHR
organized this international tour for the delegation of families of the
Palestinian prisoners in its ongoing efforts to support the Palestinian
prisoners in order to internationalize their cause and mobilize a pro public
opinion.  PCHR is supposed to hold a
press conference tomorrow, 18 March 2013, in front of ICRC’s office in Gaza to
present the most prominent stops in the international tour and its results and
outlooks to internationalize the cause of Palestinian prisoners.