>From: "Corinna Hasofferet" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: "Corinna Hasofferet" <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Forwarded by Corinna for your kind consideration re
>PalestinianDetained Prisonerst
>Date: Tue, 7 Jan 2003 08:21:41 +0200
>X-Priority: 3
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: <[log in to unmask]>
>To: readers7 <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Monday, January 06, 2003 11:52 PM
>Subject: Palestinian Political Prisoners - Action Alert
>
>
>| Dear Friends,
>|
>| Unfortunately, I must start off this year with an action alert related to
>| the issue of Palestinian political prisoners. Not only do the Israelis
>| continue to arbitrarily arrest Palestinians under some self-declared
>| guise of collecting "wanted persons", but as many of you may have
>| read last week, collective punishment and collective humiliation is
>| now being applied inside the jails and detention centers. The latest
>| actions were at the Ofer Detention Center located on the outskirts of
>| Ramallah where over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners are living in
>| outdoor tents (it is winter here) were attacked by armed Israeli units
>| with tear gas and water cannons within the detention center itself.
>| Remember, these are mostly political prisoners that are in arbitrary
>| detention (called by Israel, "Administrative Detention") not charged
>| with anything and are unable to see their families or have their rights
>| as defined in the Fourth Geneva Conventions. I have many friends
>| in this detention center and we have not heard if any have been hurt
>| in this latest round of organized violence.
>|
>| Also, a few days ago you may have read the latest rergarding the
>| Israeli civil trail of Palestinian Legislative Council Member Mr.
>| Marwan Barghouti where he was wresteled to the courtroom floor
>| and ejected from the courtroom for raising his handcuffed hands to
>| the media. See:
>| http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/030102/168/2yqqj
>| .html and http://www.freebarghouti.org/.
>|
>| In addition to the general need to call for better conditions for
>| prisoners and the end to the Israeli policy of political detention of
>| Palestinians, there are two cases, in specific, one old and one new,
>| that require your immediate action:
>|
>| 1. Those of you on this list last year will recall Mr. Haytham Salah
>| Husni Hammouri, Jerusalem ID# 080053762, Date of Birth: March
>| 28, 1963, Employer: YMCA, Position: Program Manager,
>| Community Development Program. Haytham's first court
>| appearance since his arrest on Oct 11, 2002 will be this Thursday,
>| Jan 9, 2003. Haytham is being held as an "Administrative Prisoner,"
>| which means he is not charged with any wrongdoing, whatsoever.
>| He has missed Ramadan, Christmas and New Year's Day and his
>| wife and three daughters need him home now, especially with the
>| growing fear that the US war on Iraq will complicate life in Palestine.
>| Haytham's wife Malak is luckily able to visit Haytham and if anyone
>| would like to send him or her a message you can send directly to
>| Malak at [log in to unmask]
>|
>| Please send a message of appeal to the addresses below and your
>| local official Israeli representative office asking/demanding Haytham
>| be released and be allowed to return to his YMCA job in East
>| Jerusalem where he is also desperately needed. If possible,
>| please ask your local YMCA to send a letter calling for the release
>| of their colleague in East Jerusalem.
>|
>| 2. The second case is a new one and relates to the husband of my
>| company's marketing manager. Upon my return from the US
>| yesterday, I was saddened to learn that Mr. Ibrahem Abed Al-Qader
>| Abu-Hijley, Palestinian ID # 410450720, Date of Birth July 20, 1958,
>| was arrested on 31/12/2002 from his office in Ramallah and his
>| whereabouts were unknown until today! His wife, Thaira Karaja,
>| who serves as my marketing manager, learned today (Jan 6, 2003)
>| that he is now at Al-Jalmeh Prison outside Hafia, Israel. This prison
>| is well-known for its difficult conditions and interrogation facilities.
>| Mr. Abu-Hijley is a political activist with one of the PLO political
>| organizations and was taken from his office in downtown Ramallah.
>| His office is registered with the Palestinian Authority and works in
>| full visibility. Furthermore, Mr. Abu-Hijley is a political returnee who
>| came back home as part of the Oslo agreement and with approval
>| of Israel, as was the case for all those that were allowed to return
>| (many were not given approval and remain outside of Palestine till
>| today). Mr. Abu-Hijley has never been arrested before and all
>| expectations are that he is now undergoing physical torture at this
>| Israeli detention center in Israel proper (the 4th Geneva
>| Conventions prohibit occupied persons to be removed or
>| imprisoned outside the occupied territories, an issue that Israel
>| violates regularly as is the case here and with Haytham). Mr. Abu-
>| Hijley's wife, Thaira, is crushed and is now trying to deal with
>| maintaining her career as well as care for their two boys, Aws, 18,
>| and Najed, 10. Aws is studying in Amman and Najed is at home in
>| Ramallah. There youngest son has been unable to continue his
>| daily routines and has been seriously affected by his father's sudden
>| disappearance.
>|
>| People imprisoned and under torture have no way to defend
>| themselves. Their only chance to be less injured is when people of
>| conscious take action to let the Israeli authorities know that this
>| prisoner is not alone. Please send urgent messages to the persons
>| below and to your local official Israeli representative office calling for
>| the immediate release of Mr. Abu-Hijley and all political prisoners.
>|
>| >>>>>>>>>>>> Send Urgent Letters To:
>|
>| Elyakim Rubinstein, Attorney-General Legal,
>| Advisor to the Government
>| Ministry of Justice
>| Fax: +972 2 628 5438
>| Email: Send via Israel's NY UN mission: [log in to unmask]
>|
>| Meir Sheetrit, Minister of Justice
>| Ministry of Justice
>| Fax: +972 2 628 8618
>| E-mail: [log in to unmask]
>|
>| For E-mail Addresses of Israeli Embassies and Consulates Abroad
>| (by country) see: http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/go.asp?MFAH010m0
>|
>| >>>>>>>>>>>>
>|
--
Alison Croggon
Home page
http://www.users.bigpond.com/acroggon/
Masthead Online
http://au.geocities.com/masthead_2/
|
