37 PALESTINIAN PRISONERS ON HUNGER STRIKE

PRISONERS DEMAND TO BE CHARGED OR RELEASED

LAWE - The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment

PO Box 20873

Jerusalem

Tel: (972) (2) 812364/824559

Fax: (972) (2) 811072

email: lawe@netvision.net.il

24 July 1996

Nablus, West Bank -- In Juneid prison in Nablus, 37 prisoners today went into their fifth day of an open-ended hunger strike. The prisoners, detained without charge by the Palestinian Authority since March 1996, demand either that charges be brought against them or that they be released.

Witnesses state that fatigue and hunger, in addition to bad conditions inside the prison, are already taking their toll. In particularly poor health are prisoners Sitqi al Agbar (23) and Mohammed Alawi (20), both from Nablus. One prisoner, Rassim al Kabi, 33, is a mathematics teacher and has been arrested for the first time.

Of those arrested, 25 are students from An Najah University. These students were arrested after Palestinian security services forcibly dispersed a student council meeting at An Najah University in March. At that time, eighteen students were arrested by the Palestinian Coastal Police (PCP), and seven students by Force 17. The remaining twelve of the 37 prisoners were arrested through other security branches. The prisoners report that highly placed authorities within the police have pressured them to end their hunger strike.

The 37 prisoners have stated that they will begin to refuse drinking water and salt if their demands are not met, beginning tomorrow.

LAWE - The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment expresses its grave concern about the continuing detention without charge of these prisoners. They have been held for months in substandard conditions, in a gross violation of human rights and the due process of law. LAWE demands that the Palestinian Authority either charge or release these prisoners, and calls on the Authority to allow human rights organizations to visit Juneid prison at least to verify the condition of the hunger strikers.

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.