Urgent statement
The International Federation for
Human Rights (FIDH) on the occasion of its international board meeting in Paris
on May 12th 2012, strongly denounces the situation of Palestinian
prisoners in Israel, who have been on
hunger strike since April 17th 2012 in protest against
administrative detention, as well as living conditions and ill-treatment in the
prisons.
FIDH is particularly worried about
the deteriorating health situation of Mr. Bilal Diab and Mr. Tha’er Halahleh as
a result of their hunger strike and ill-treatment, and fears for the safety of
their lives. Last week, Israel’s High Court of Justice rejected these
detainees’ appeal to be released from administrative detention. This decision
comes despite the reports by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) that Diab and
Halahleh’s lives are in imminent danger as they have been on hunger strike for
more than 72 days.
According to FIDH member
organization in Gaza, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) “at least
2,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention facilities have
been on hunger strike since 17 April 2012 in order to denounce their ongoing
administrative detention as well as other violations of their rights.
These demands include: improving their living conditions in the Israeli
prisons; ensuring family visitations, particularly for the prisoners from the
Gaza Strip; allowing detainees to receive education; and putting an end to the
solitary confinement policy, repression and night searches”.
Diab and Halahleh stand amongst around 300 Palestinians suffering from the
Israel’s policy of administrative detention, according to FIDH member
organization B’tselem. The procedure allows for the detention of Palestinians
in Israeli prisons without charges brought against them, and without being
informed of any evidence, under the auspices of “security concerns”. According
to B’tselem, in December 2011, 60% of those detained have had their detention
extended.
FIDH calls upon the immediate
release of Diab, Halahleh , and all others who are arbitrary detained.
Furthermore, FIDH calls on the
Israeli authorities to abide by their international obligations and respect the
international humanitarian and human rights laws and in particular Article 14
paragraph 3 (a) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights(ICCPR) which provides that everyone should be entitled to “be informed
promptly and in detail in a language which he understands of the nature and
cause of the charge against him”. The policy of administrative detention
contravenes with the basic international
human rights standards as the evidence against persons are submitted in secret to the military court and
neither the defendants nor their lawyers are informed of this evidence.
Accordingly, FIDH recalls that the right do fair trial and information about
charges cannot be compromise for security concerns.
