PROFESSOR REMAINS IN PALESTINIAN PRISON
WITHOUT CHARGE OR TRIAL
July 24, 1997
Dr. Fathi Subuh remains without charge in the Preventative Security Service interrogation center, over three weeks since his arrest on 2 July. Neither his family nor his lawyer has been allowed to visit him, no charges have been brought against him, and he has not yet been brought before a judge.Dr. Subuh began a hunger strike shortly after his arrest, to protest his arbitrary detention and to press for his release. His family says that he ended the strike on the sixth day.
Dr. Fathi Ahmed Subuh is a professor at the Department of Education at al Azhar University in Gaza. His family contends that he was arrested for asking several critical questions about corruption on a final exam. Dr. Subuh is 44 years old, married with five children.
LAW views Dr. Subuh’s arrest and prolonged detention as a violation of Palestinian law, which guarantees the right to a lawyer and which states that a detainee must be brought before the Attorney General or a judge within 48 hours to extend the period of detention. Dr. Subuh’s continued detention without charge, and the denial of legal representation, also constitutes a violation of human rights and international law. In addition, LAW expresses its deep concern over the continuing arrests of those who express opinions critical of the Palestinian Authority. LAW calls for the immediate release of Dr. Subuh or for charges to be brought against him, and for a halt to a PA policy which violates the most fundamental of human rights - the freedom of expression. Please fax your condemnation of this ongoing policy to: President Yassir Arafat, (972) (7) 822365/6; Attorney General Fayyez Abu Rahme, (972) (7) 824523; Colonel Mohammed Dahlan, head of the PSS, T/F (972) (7) 825518; or to email - Palestine Liberation Organization/United Nations: palestinun@aol.com; Palestine National Authority: info@nmopic.pna.net.
LAW - 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. LAW is also an affiliate member of the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights.