Campaign for the Rights of Political Prisoners
Palestinian Political Prisoners in Israeli Prisons Begin Hunger Strike
Please see UPDATES at end of announcements.
The Committee for the Families of Political Prisoners and Detainees in the West Bank, representing 7,500 political prisoners currently in Israeli prisons, is seeking the support of the international community in its campaign against the gross violations of their rights that the prisoners are enduring and against the appalling conditions under which they are being detained.
The treatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israel violates both international and Israeli laws, as well as rules governing the administration of Israeli prisons. The Committee for the Families is planning a series of activities in the West Bank to coincide with the start of the hunger strike on August 15th. A press conference in Ramallah will kick off the campaign. Hunger strike solidarity tents will be set up in the centre of all the cities in the West Bank and in all the Red Cross Centres and will be occupied by the public around the clock for as long as the prisoners’ strike lasts. The Palestinian Prime Minister’s office has declared August 18th a National Day for Prisoners for all Palestinians to show solidarity with the prisoners. All government ministers, members of the Palestinian National Council and heads of all political parties will join the public in the Solidarity Tents and fast in support of the prisoners.
Other planned activities are: On Friday, August 20, after Jum’a prayers at mosques processions will march towards the Solidarity Tents. On Saturday, August 21st, Palestinians in various Israeli cities will march, together with other supporters, to the prisons where Palestinian political prisoners are being held and on Sunday, August 22, after church services processions will march to the Solidarity Tents. These processions will be held every weekend during the campaign. On August 23rd children of the prisoners will lead a procession. On August 25th all professionals involved in the Justice system in Palestine will congregate at the Solidarity Tents in their official legal gowns and will lead a procession to the centre of their cities. On August 26th the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, Arun Gandhi, will lead a mass procession in Ramallah. On August 29th all members of the public are invited to join the open hunger strike and in the evening candlelight processions will be held.
The families of the Palestinian political prisoners plead with you, the members of the international community, to join in solidarity with our sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters who are being held in Israeli prisons by organizing an International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian Prisoners on September 4, 2004. We ask you to demonstrate, march, hold silent vigils or activities to publicize the plight of the political prisoners and bring pressure on the government of Israel to cease these violations of law and to treat Palestinian prisoners as human beings entitled to basic human rights.
Palestinian prisoners demands are humanitarian not political August 16, 2004
During the month of August 7,500 Palestinian political prisoners will take part in a massive series of hunger strikes hoping to draw international attention and support to a campaign against the gross violations of their rights and against the appalling conditions under which they are being detained.
Whilst the Israeli authorities have tried to undermine the protest, dismissing it as a political action organized by the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement and Islamic Jihad, the complaints and demands of the prisoners clearly highlight the humanitarian nature of the campaign.
• The prisoners complain of arbitrary and indiscriminate beatings,
• The firing of tear gas into cells and intimidation by guards with guns,
• Humiliating strip searches of prisoners and the subjecting of prisoners to solitary confinement for excessive periods of time, for months and even years
• Arbitrary imposition of financial penalties
• Confinement of children with adult prisoners and political prisoners with criminals
• Withholding or delaying medical treatment,
• The withdrawal of studying privileges that in the past allowed prisoners to continue their high school or university studies through correspondence courses
• And restrictions placed on family members entitled to visit and the denial of travel permits to family members living in the West Bank or Gaza so that they cannot travel to prisons to see their relatives. Some prisoners have endured more than a full year without visits.
Such treatment and conditions violate not only international law but also the Israeli state rules intended to govern the administration of prisons.
With the help of international recognition of these facts the prisoners seek only to alleviate these harsh conditions, their demands calling for the most basic necessities such as food, water and air and for a standard of treatment that meets humanitarian requirements.
In their statement entitled “the uprising of the empty stomach” the prisoners demand:
• An end to collective and abusive punishment and to reintegrate the many prisoners held in isolation
• Improved visitation rights and visitor facilities, easing of restrictions regarding telephone calls and communication with families and lawyers.
• Improvement of health facilities inside the prisons and the treatment of prisoners with emergency needs left without attention
• Provision of basic kitchen equipment such as cups as well as cleaning, bathroom and shaving products
• Recreational activities and books
• Ventilation of cells and removal of black covering from windows
The prisoners also demand that legal documents and prison policies are made available to them in their own Arabic language and that they are treated above all according to the confines of the fourth Geneva Convention.
This campaign is not political rather its aim is to stop the excessively harsh treatment of Palestinian political prisoners and to ensure that the conditions under which they are imprisoned are consistent with international norms of human rights and basic decency.
The Committee for the Families of Political Prisoners and Detainees has planned a month of solidarity activities to coincide with the hunger strikes. Solidarity tents have been set up in the centre of all the cities in the West Bank and in all the Red Cross Centres and will be occupied by the public around the clock for as long as the prisoners’ strike lasts. The Palestinian Prime Minister’s office has declared August 18th a National Day for Prisoners for all Palestinians to show solidarity and all government ministers, members of the Palestinian National Council and heads of all political parties and several civil society organizations will join the public in the Solidarity Tents and fast in support of the prisoners.
The families of the Palestinian political prisoners plead with you, the members of the international community, to join in solidarity with their sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters who are being held in Israeli prisons by organizing an International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian Prisoners on September 4, 2004 and by registering your own protest with political representatives and government ministers that they may bring pressure on the government of Israel to cease these violations of law and to treat Palestinian prisoners as human beings entitled to basic human rights.
UPDATE
Press Conference in Ramallah as Hunger Strike Begins:
Sunday, August 15 a press conference was held in Ramallah on the first day of the Palestinian political prisoners hunger strike. The strike is open ended and includes over 7,500 prisoners. On Friday, two days before the strike began, Public Secretary Minister Tzachi Hanegbi made statements about the hunger strikers. He stated that prisoners on hunger strike “can starve death”.
See Haaretz Service and Agencies:
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/464469.html
In response to Public Security Minister Tzachi Hanegbi comments about letting prisoners “starve to death”, Spokesman of the Higher Committee of Prisoners, Helmeh el Araj stated: “Given the apartheid-style statement of Tzachi Hanegbi, who wants to let the prisoners starve, we expect the strike to be tough.”
Mahmoud Ziadi, secretary general Committee for the Families of Political Prisoners and Detainees in the West Bank, responded to questions concerning the demands of the prisoners: “The prisoners want to be allowed to meet with their relatives, to see them, to talk to them. Most of them do not have this basic human right.”
The prisoners began an open-ended hunger strike yesterday. A parallel hunger strike in solidarity with Palestinian political prison is also taking place in Lebanon among families and supporters.
Scheduled Activities to Support the Hunger Strikers:
1.A press conference at noon in Ramallah will kick off the campaign Sunday, August 15.
2.Hunger strike solidarity tents will be set up in the centre of all the cities in the West Bank and in all the Red Cross Centers and will be occupied by the public around the clock for as long as the prisoners' strike lasts.
3.August 18: The Palestinian Prime Minister's office has declared this day a National Day for Prisoners for all Palestinians to show solidarity with the prisoners. All government ministers, members of the Palestinian National Council and heads of all political parties will join the public in the Solidarity Tents and fast in support of the prisoners.
4. August 20; after Jum'a prayers at mosques processions will march towards the Solidarity Tents.
5. August 21st; Palestinians in various Israeli cities will march, together with other supporters, to the prisons where Palestinian political prisoners are being held.
6. August 22; after church services, processions will march to the Solidarity Tents. These processions will be held every weekend during the campaign.
7. August 23; children of the prisoners will lead a procession.
8. August 25; all professionals involved in the Justice system in Palestine will congregate at the Solidarity Tents in their official legal gowns and will lead a procession to the centre of their cities.
9. August 26; the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, Arun Gandhi, will lead a mass procession in Ramallah and Bethlehem.
10. August 28; candlelight processions will be held at 8:00 p.m.
11. August 29; all members of the public are invited to join the open hunger strike.
September 4, 2004: International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian
Prisoners
For photos of the first day in solidarity with the prisoners see:
http://www.palsolidarity.org/pictures/PHOTOS_16Aug04_03_10_16RamallahPete.htm
For more information visit our temporary website at http://www.palsolidarity.org/prisoners
Telephone (972)2-277 4602 or (972) 547-358-579
e-mail: info@palsolidarity.org
Campaign for the Rights of Political Prisoners Need your Support!
Palestinian Political Prisoners in Israeli Prisons Began Hunger Strike Monday
To all Friends and Supporters of Human Rights around the World:
The Committee for the Families of Political Prisoners and Detainees in the West Bank, representing 7,500 political prisoners currently in Israeli prisons, is seeking the support of the international community in its campaign against the gross violations of their rights that the prisoners are enduring and against the appalling conditions under which they are being detained.
Political prisoners in Israeli prisons commenced a hunger strike on Sunday, August 15, 2004 to protest their conditions. They complain that the conditions they experience are reminiscent of the former Abu Ghoraib facility in Iraq which gained worldwide notoriety recently for its treatment of detainees.
The families of the Palestinian political prisoners plead with you, the members of the international community, to join in solidarity with our sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters who are being held in Israeli prisons by organizing demonstrations, marches, holding silent vigils or activities to publicize the plight of the political prisoners and to bring pressure on the government of Israel to cease these violations of law and to treat Palestinian prisoners as human beings entitled to basic human rights.
Israeli Public Security Minister, Tzachi Hanegbi, told reporters at a press conference in Jerusalem on August 13th that the prisoners “can strike for a day, a month, even starve to death, we will not respond to their demands.”
The treatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israel violates both international and Israeli laws, as well as rules governing the administration of Israeli prisons.
We ask you also to register your protests by letter, fax, email, or telephone to the officials listed below. Ask them to stop the harsh treatment of Palestinian political prisoners and to accede the demands of the striking prisoners so that the conditions under which they are imprisoned are consistent with international norms of human rights and basic decency.
In addition, please register your protest with your own political representatives and governments ministers.
Please send a copy of your protest message to alhureih@yahoo.com
Messages of support from organizations would also be appreciated by the prisoners and their families. Please send them to the same address with some details of the organization.
For more information visit our temporary website at
www.palsolidarity.org/prisoners or telephone (972) 2 277 4602 or
(972) 547-358-579 or email: info@palsolidarity.org
With much appreciation for your valued support,
Mahmoud Ziadi, General Secretariat,
Families of Palestinian Political Prisoners
PO Box 2151, Ramallah, Palestine.
Israeli Government Contacts:
Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon
Office of the Prime Minister
3 Kaplan Str., P.O. Box 187
Jerusalem, 91919 Israel
Fax: 972-2-670-5475
e-mail: pm_eng@pmo.gov.il
Minister of Defense, Shaul Mofaz
37 Kaplan Str.
Tel Aviv, 61909, Israel
Fax: 972-3-696-2757 or 691-7915
e-mail: san@mod.gov.il or pnoit@mod.gov.il
Minister of Justice, Yosef Lapid
29 Salah al-Din Str.
Jerusalem, 91010, Israel
Fax: 972-2-628-5492
e-mail: san@justice.gov.il
Minister of Interior, Tzahi Haneghi
Kiryat Hamenshala, P.O. Box 18182
Jerusalem, 91181 Israel
Tel. 972-2-530-9999
Fax: 972-2-584-7872
e-mail: sar@mops.gov.il
Addresses of Israeli embassies worldwide can be found at:
http://www.embassyworld.com/embassy/israel.html or go to the Government of
Israel website at http://www.info.gov.il/FirstGov/
For news reports and additional information:
Hebrew:
http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/SearchArticle.jhtml
English
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/464469.html
http://www.maarivintl.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=article&articleID=10670
For Links on Prisoner Abuse:
1. A Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group (PHRMG) report that describes and substantiates many of the prisoners' grievances: http://http://www.phrmg.org/monitor1997/may97-7.htm
2. PHRMG Testimonials:
http://www.phrmg.org/monitor1999/mar99-visit.htm
3. General statement on Israeli prison conditions from Human Rights Watch: http://www.hrw.org/prisons/mideast.html
4. Urgent Appeals in specific cases by Amnesty Int'l: http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE150512003?open&of=ENG-ISR
http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/ENGMDE151122002
5. Petition to Israel High Court: Stop Prisoner Abuse
Wednesday, 9 June 2004, 9:33 am
Press Release: Physicians For Human Rights In Israel
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0406/S00087.htm
6. Defense for Children International
Palestine Section
CHILD PRISONERS BRIEFINGS: 22 May 2002 No.10
http://www.ipc.gov.ps/ipc_e/ipc_e-1/e_News/ipc-prisoners.html
http://www.dci-pal.org/prisonweb/brief10.html
http://www.dci-pal.org/prisonweb/brief24.html
7. News Reports on Prison Abuse and Torture
http://www.imemc.org/archive/prisoners.htm
UPDATES
Gaza: Thousands back hunger strike
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/76D7A64B-B040-4171-A5FC-B72BDBC3C874.htm
Palestinian Political Prisoners in Israeli Prisons Begin Hunger Strike
Please see UPDATES at end of announcements.
The Committee for the Families of Political Prisoners and Detainees in the West Bank, representing 7,500 political prisoners currently in Israeli prisons, is seeking the support of the international community in its campaign against the gross violations of their rights that the prisoners are enduring and against the appalling conditions under which they are being detained.
The treatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israel violates both international and Israeli laws, as well as rules governing the administration of Israeli prisons. The Committee for the Families is planning a series of activities in the West Bank to coincide with the start of the hunger strike on August 15th. A press conference in Ramallah will kick off the campaign. Hunger strike solidarity tents will be set up in the centre of all the cities in the West Bank and in all the Red Cross Centres and will be occupied by the public around the clock for as long as the prisoners’ strike lasts. The Palestinian Prime Minister’s office has declared August 18th a National Day for Prisoners for all Palestinians to show solidarity with the prisoners. All government ministers, members of the Palestinian National Council and heads of all political parties will join the public in the Solidarity Tents and fast in support of the prisoners.
Other planned activities are: On Friday, August 20, after Jum’a prayers at mosques processions will march towards the Solidarity Tents. On Saturday, August 21st, Palestinians in various Israeli cities will march, together with other supporters, to the prisons where Palestinian political prisoners are being held and on Sunday, August 22, after church services processions will march to the Solidarity Tents. These processions will be held every weekend during the campaign. On August 23rd children of the prisoners will lead a procession. On August 25th all professionals involved in the Justice system in Palestine will congregate at the Solidarity Tents in their official legal gowns and will lead a procession to the centre of their cities. On August 26th the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, Arun Gandhi, will lead a mass procession in Ramallah. On August 29th all members of the public are invited to join the open hunger strike and in the evening candlelight processions will be held.
The families of the Palestinian political prisoners plead with you, the members of the international community, to join in solidarity with our sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters who are being held in Israeli prisons by organizing an International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian Prisoners on September 4, 2004. We ask you to demonstrate, march, hold silent vigils or activities to publicize the plight of the political prisoners and bring pressure on the government of Israel to cease these violations of law and to treat Palestinian prisoners as human beings entitled to basic human rights.
Palestinian prisoners demands are humanitarian not political August 16, 2004
During the month of August 7,500 Palestinian political prisoners will take part in a massive series of hunger strikes hoping to draw international attention and support to a campaign against the gross violations of their rights and against the appalling conditions under which they are being detained.
Whilst the Israeli authorities have tried to undermine the protest, dismissing it as a political action organized by the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement and Islamic Jihad, the complaints and demands of the prisoners clearly highlight the humanitarian nature of the campaign.
• The prisoners complain of arbitrary and indiscriminate beatings,
• The firing of tear gas into cells and intimidation by guards with guns,
• Humiliating strip searches of prisoners and the subjecting of prisoners to solitary confinement for excessive periods of time, for months and even years
• Arbitrary imposition of financial penalties
• Confinement of children with adult prisoners and political prisoners with criminals
• Withholding or delaying medical treatment,
• The withdrawal of studying privileges that in the past allowed prisoners to continue their high school or university studies through correspondence courses
• And restrictions placed on family members entitled to visit and the denial of travel permits to family members living in the West Bank or Gaza so that they cannot travel to prisons to see their relatives. Some prisoners have endured more than a full year without visits.
Such treatment and conditions violate not only international law but also the Israeli state rules intended to govern the administration of prisons.
With the help of international recognition of these facts the prisoners seek only to alleviate these harsh conditions, their demands calling for the most basic necessities such as food, water and air and for a standard of treatment that meets humanitarian requirements.
In their statement entitled “the uprising of the empty stomach” the prisoners demand:
• An end to collective and abusive punishment and to reintegrate the many prisoners held in isolation
• Improved visitation rights and visitor facilities, easing of restrictions regarding telephone calls and communication with families and lawyers.
• Improvement of health facilities inside the prisons and the treatment of prisoners with emergency needs left without attention
• Provision of basic kitchen equipment such as cups as well as cleaning, bathroom and shaving products
• Recreational activities and books
• Ventilation of cells and removal of black covering from windows
The prisoners also demand that legal documents and prison policies are made available to them in their own Arabic language and that they are treated above all according to the confines of the fourth Geneva Convention.
This campaign is not political rather its aim is to stop the excessively harsh treatment of Palestinian political prisoners and to ensure that the conditions under which they are imprisoned are consistent with international norms of human rights and basic decency.
The Committee for the Families of Political Prisoners and Detainees has planned a month of solidarity activities to coincide with the hunger strikes. Solidarity tents have been set up in the centre of all the cities in the West Bank and in all the Red Cross Centres and will be occupied by the public around the clock for as long as the prisoners’ strike lasts. The Palestinian Prime Minister’s office has declared August 18th a National Day for Prisoners for all Palestinians to show solidarity and all government ministers, members of the Palestinian National Council and heads of all political parties and several civil society organizations will join the public in the Solidarity Tents and fast in support of the prisoners.
The families of the Palestinian political prisoners plead with you, the members of the international community, to join in solidarity with their sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters who are being held in Israeli prisons by organizing an International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian Prisoners on September 4, 2004 and by registering your own protest with political representatives and government ministers that they may bring pressure on the government of Israel to cease these violations of law and to treat Palestinian prisoners as human beings entitled to basic human rights.
UPDATE
Press Conference in Ramallah as Hunger Strike Begins:
Sunday, August 15 a press conference was held in Ramallah on the first day of the Palestinian political prisoners hunger strike. The strike is open ended and includes over 7,500 prisoners. On Friday, two days before the strike began, Public Secretary Minister Tzachi Hanegbi made statements about the hunger strikers. He stated that prisoners on hunger strike “can starve death”.
See Haaretz Service and Agencies:
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/464469.html
In response to Public Security Minister Tzachi Hanegbi comments about letting prisoners “starve to death”, Spokesman of the Higher Committee of Prisoners, Helmeh el Araj stated: “Given the apartheid-style statement of Tzachi Hanegbi, who wants to let the prisoners starve, we expect the strike to be tough.”
Mahmoud Ziadi, secretary general Committee for the Families of Political Prisoners and Detainees in the West Bank, responded to questions concerning the demands of the prisoners: “The prisoners want to be allowed to meet with their relatives, to see them, to talk to them. Most of them do not have this basic human right.”
The prisoners began an open-ended hunger strike yesterday. A parallel hunger strike in solidarity with Palestinian political prison is also taking place in Lebanon among families and supporters.
Scheduled Activities to Support the Hunger Strikers:
1.A press conference at noon in Ramallah will kick off the campaign Sunday, August 15.
2.Hunger strike solidarity tents will be set up in the centre of all the cities in the West Bank and in all the Red Cross Centers and will be occupied by the public around the clock for as long as the prisoners' strike lasts.
3.August 18: The Palestinian Prime Minister's office has declared this day a National Day for Prisoners for all Palestinians to show solidarity with the prisoners. All government ministers, members of the Palestinian National Council and heads of all political parties will join the public in the Solidarity Tents and fast in support of the prisoners.
4. August 20; after Jum'a prayers at mosques processions will march towards the Solidarity Tents.
5. August 21st; Palestinians in various Israeli cities will march, together with other supporters, to the prisons where Palestinian political prisoners are being held.
6. August 22; after church services, processions will march to the Solidarity Tents. These processions will be held every weekend during the campaign.
7. August 23; children of the prisoners will lead a procession.
8. August 25; all professionals involved in the Justice system in Palestine will congregate at the Solidarity Tents in their official legal gowns and will lead a procession to the centre of their cities.
9. August 26; the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, Arun Gandhi, will lead a mass procession in Ramallah and Bethlehem.
10. August 28; candlelight processions will be held at 8:00 p.m.
11. August 29; all members of the public are invited to join the open hunger strike.
September 4, 2004: International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian
Prisoners
For photos of the first day in solidarity with the prisoners see:
http://www.palsolidarity.org/pictures/PHOTOS_16Aug04_03_10_16RamallahPete.htm
For more information visit our temporary website at http://www.palsolidarity.org/prisoners
Telephone (972)2-277 4602 or (972) 547-358-579
e-mail: info@palsolidarity.org
Campaign for the Rights of Political Prisoners Need your Support!
Palestinian Political Prisoners in Israeli Prisons Began Hunger Strike Monday
To all Friends and Supporters of Human Rights around the World:
The Committee for the Families of Political Prisoners and Detainees in the West Bank, representing 7,500 political prisoners currently in Israeli prisons, is seeking the support of the international community in its campaign against the gross violations of their rights that the prisoners are enduring and against the appalling conditions under which they are being detained.
Political prisoners in Israeli prisons commenced a hunger strike on Sunday, August 15, 2004 to protest their conditions. They complain that the conditions they experience are reminiscent of the former Abu Ghoraib facility in Iraq which gained worldwide notoriety recently for its treatment of detainees.
The families of the Palestinian political prisoners plead with you, the members of the international community, to join in solidarity with our sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters who are being held in Israeli prisons by organizing demonstrations, marches, holding silent vigils or activities to publicize the plight of the political prisoners and to bring pressure on the government of Israel to cease these violations of law and to treat Palestinian prisoners as human beings entitled to basic human rights.
Israeli Public Security Minister, Tzachi Hanegbi, told reporters at a press conference in Jerusalem on August 13th that the prisoners “can strike for a day, a month, even starve to death, we will not respond to their demands.”
The treatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israel violates both international and Israeli laws, as well as rules governing the administration of Israeli prisons.
We ask you also to register your protests by letter, fax, email, or telephone to the officials listed below. Ask them to stop the harsh treatment of Palestinian political prisoners and to accede the demands of the striking prisoners so that the conditions under which they are imprisoned are consistent with international norms of human rights and basic decency.
In addition, please register your protest with your own political representatives and governments ministers.
Please send a copy of your protest message to alhureih@yahoo.com
Messages of support from organizations would also be appreciated by the prisoners and their families. Please send them to the same address with some details of the organization.
For more information visit our temporary website at
www.palsolidarity.org/prisoners or telephone (972) 2 277 4602 or
(972) 547-358-579 or email: info@palsolidarity.org
With much appreciation for your valued support,
Mahmoud Ziadi, General Secretariat,
Families of Palestinian Political Prisoners
PO Box 2151, Ramallah, Palestine.
Israeli Government Contacts:
Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon
Office of the Prime Minister
3 Kaplan Str., P.O. Box 187
Jerusalem, 91919 Israel
Fax: 972-2-670-5475
e-mail: pm_eng@pmo.gov.il
Minister of Defense, Shaul Mofaz
37 Kaplan Str.
Tel Aviv, 61909, Israel
Fax: 972-3-696-2757 or 691-7915
e-mail: san@mod.gov.il or pnoit@mod.gov.il
Minister of Justice, Yosef Lapid
29 Salah al-Din Str.
Jerusalem, 91010, Israel
Fax: 972-2-628-5492
e-mail: san@justice.gov.il
Minister of Interior, Tzahi Haneghi
Kiryat Hamenshala, P.O. Box 18182
Jerusalem, 91181 Israel
Tel. 972-2-530-9999
Fax: 972-2-584-7872
e-mail: sar@mops.gov.il
Addresses of Israeli embassies worldwide can be found at:
http://www.embassyworld.com/embassy/israel.html or go to the Government of
Israel website at http://www.info.gov.il/FirstGov/
For news reports and additional information:
Hebrew:
http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/SearchArticle.jhtml
English
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/464469.html
http://www.maarivintl.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=article&articleID=10670
For Links on Prisoner Abuse:
1. A Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group (PHRMG) report that describes and substantiates many of the prisoners' grievances: http://http://www.phrmg.org/monitor1997/may97-7.htm
2. PHRMG Testimonials:
http://www.phrmg.org/monitor1999/mar99-visit.htm
3. General statement on Israeli prison conditions from Human Rights Watch: http://www.hrw.org/prisons/mideast.html
4. Urgent Appeals in specific cases by Amnesty Int'l: http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE150512003?open&of=ENG-ISR
http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/ENGMDE151122002
5. Petition to Israel High Court: Stop Prisoner Abuse
Wednesday, 9 June 2004, 9:33 am
Press Release: Physicians For Human Rights In Israel
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0406/S00087.htm
6. Defense for Children International
Palestine Section
CHILD PRISONERS BRIEFINGS: 22 May 2002 No.10
http://www.ipc.gov.ps/ipc_e/ipc_e-1/e_News/ipc-prisoners.html
http://www.dci-pal.org/prisonweb/brief10.html
http://www.dci-pal.org/prisonweb/brief24.html
7. News Reports on Prison Abuse and Torture
http://www.imemc.org/archive/prisoners.htm
UPDATES
Gaza: Thousands back hunger strike
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/76D7A64B-B040-4171-A5FC-B72BDBC3C874.htm