URGENT ACTION ALERT -- URGENT ACTION ALERT

APPEAL TO PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY TO RESPECT HIGH COURT DECISION

20 August, 1996

On Sunday 18 August, the Palestinian High Court responded to the petition submitted on behalf of ten Bir Zeit students detained without charge or trial since March by ordering their immediate release. These students, however, remain in jail in contravention of the High Court's order.

Attorney General Khaled al Qidra has stated that the students will not be released until he confers with President Yassir Arafat. LAWE - The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment objects in the strongest possible terms that the Attorney General has interfered with the functioning of the court and violated Palestinian laws, which require the High Court's decision to be immediately acted upon. Join us in calling for the students' immediate release, and for the Palestinian Authority to respect the independence of the Palestinian judiciary and their decisions.

Background:

On 26 June five lawyers submitted a petition, in cooperation with the Human Rights Action Project at Bir Zeit University, against the President and acting Minister of the Interior Yassir Arafat and Attorney General Khaled al Qidra. The petition argued that ten Bir Zeit students, detained without charge since March, must be released on the basis of articles 16 and 108 of criminal legislation of 1961, which states that charges must be brought within a 48 hour period or the detainee must be released. These students were originally arrested without an official order or arrest warrant, and thereafter denied due process and legal representation.

An independent judiciary is guaranteed by Palestinian law. According to the currently relevant Jordanian legal system, article 97 guarantees government respect and execution of the High Court's decisions. Article 101/1 ensures that no authority influence the free and fair functioning of the courts. The refusal to release immediately the students represents a violation of the law and provides a dangerous precedent against the free functioning of the Palestinian legal system.

Therefore LAWE calls on you to demand the students' immediate release and support an independent judiciary by faxing to: President Yassir Arafat: (972) (7) 822365/6, Attorney General Khaled al Qidra: (972) (7) 824503, and Minister of Justice Frieh abu Medein: (972) (7) 822236.

LAWE - The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment is a non-governmental organization, dedicated to preserving human rights through legal advocacy. LAWE is also an affiliate member of the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights.