Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Israel must release or try Palestinian detainee on prolonged hunger strike



Amnesty International
6 February 2012

"The Israeli authorities must release a Palestinian detainee or charge him with a recognizable criminal offence and promptly try him, Amnesty International said today amid fears the man could die in detention after more than 50 days on hunger strike.

Khader Adnan, 33, was arrested on 17 December 2011 at his home in the village of Arrabe near Jenin in the occupied West Bank, after Israeli security forces burst into his home in the early hours of the morning.

Mr Adnan, a baker, is allegedly affiliated with the Islamic Jihad movement.

On Wednesday a military court conducted a review of Khader Adnan’s case but the judge has yet to announce the outcome - release, his detention shortened or the order confirmed.

For years Israel has been using administrative detention to lock up Palestinian activists without charge or trial, said Ann Harrison, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East.

Military commanders can renew the detention orders repeatedly, so in effect detainees can be held indefinitely. The process violates their right to a fair trial which is guaranteed by international law Israel is obliged to uphold.”

Khader Adnan, who is also a post-graduate student, has been on hunger strike since 18 December in protest against his ill-treatment, the conditions of his detention, and the policy of administrative detention.

The Israeli military commander in the West Bank imposed a four-month administrative detention order on him last month.

The baker has been hospitalized since 30 December as his health deteriorated. He has not been allowed any family visits and the Israeli authorities have since moved him to various different hospitals around the country........"

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