PRESS RELEASE

 

The Israeli authorities release the longest held Palestinian detainee

while more than 2000 remain in prison.

 

Ref: 77/99

Date: 19^th August 1999

Yesterday, 19 August 1999, the Israeli authorities released the detainee Khalil Sa’di Ahmad El Rai’, also known as Abu El Sa’ad, from Israeli prison.

The detainee El Rai’ is from El Zaitoon in Gaza Strip and was born in 1954. He was arrested on the 5th March 1974 and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was accused of being the leader of one of the Fateh military groups in Gaza Strip, and of killing the Superintendent of Israeli Police in Gaza Strip in 1973.

El Rai’ was arrested again in 1987, after he escaped from Nafha Prison. He was arrested during his attempt to overrun the Egyptian border with Israel. During the period of his detention, he was transferred to several different Israel prisons, including Gaza Cental, Nafha, Azqlan, Beer Sheva, Shuta, Al Ramle and Qifar Yuna. He is considered the longest held Palestinian detainee in Israeli prisons.

While the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights expresses its pleasure at the release of El Rai’ it draws attention to the fact that there are more than 2000 Arab and Palestinian detainees still in Israeli prisons and suffering from difficult, dangerous and seriously unhealthy living conditions. Amongst these detainees are the detainee Yasser El Muazin, Nadal Abu Alia, and Azz Al Dien Zaroub.

In this context PCHR calls on the international community to pressure Israel to respect and implement the relevant international Conventions and to immediately release all the detainees in Israeli prisons as a basic condition for enhancing mutual trust and promoting just peace in the region.

Although PCHR considers the release of the detainee El Rai’ to be a positive step it considers that this step is insufficient if it is not accompanied by the release of all the detainees without any political maneuvering, and by dealing with the detainee issue as a unified whole.

 

For More Information Contact:

Palestinian Centre for Human Rights

Tel/Fax: 972 7 2823725 / 2825893

E-mail: pchr@trendline.co.il, Web Page: www.pchrgaza.org