LAW MEETS WITH PALESTINIAN ADMINISTRATIVE DETAINEES IN TEL MOND PRISON
June 26, 1997
On June 23, 1997, LAW’s attorney, Allegra Pacheco, visited Tel Mond prison and met with Palestinian administrative detainees. The detainees reported that all four detainees who were set to be released in the next week received four to six month extensions. One of the detainees, Hassan Fatafta, received a six month extension making this his third year being held in administrative detention.There are approximately 54 Palestinian administrative detainees in Tel Mond prison, located in central Israel. Last month, they were transferred from Megiddo prison to Tel Mond by the Israeli security services in order to pressure the detainees to stop their protest activities against their continued administrative detentions. The Tel Mond detainees reported that in accordance with the agreement made between all the detianees, they will continue to protest their detentions and boycott the appeals hearings despite the transfer. The detainees also informed LAW’s attorney that on June 24, they will mark the day in solidarity with their fellow Palestinian administrative detainees held in Damoun.
The detainees reported that their conditions are unsatisfactory and that they believe the prison administration is trying to punish them from the protests in Meggido and to divert their attention away from the greater issue of their prolong detentions and continued extensions. Detainees are not provided with telephone privileges, dentists, newspapers, and sufficient cigarettes- basic rights accorded to Israeli criminal prisoners and administrative detainees. The detainees have not yet received the list of meals in the prison in order to verify that the prison is providing them with proper food.. The detainees also complained that no representative from the Red Cross had met with them and that they not received Arabic copies of the Fourth Geneva Convention and its Commentary.
The detainees reported that during their negotiations with the prison, the director of the prison used the 17 year old Israeli administrative detention law to justify the above restrictions. This, despite the fact that the practice in Israeli prisons has changed dramatically and administrative detainees generally receive many privileges beyond what is provided for in the law. After negotiations with the prison commander, the detainees received the right to be outdoors for 5 hours a day and exercise 1 hour in the morning. They also agreed to lift their boycott of the infirmary - making a deal that the first 17 detianees would not be taken to the infirmary in hand and feetcuffs.
Usama Barham, an administratively detained in Ashqalon was transferred to Tel Mond last week. The detainees believe that all 16 administrative detainees in Ashqalon will be transferred to Tel Mond prison in the near future. LAW continues to call on the Israeli government to release immediately the Palesitnian adminsitrative detainees in order to put an end to this gross human rights violation. LAW believes that transferring the administrative detainees from prison to prison is a transparent attempt by the Israelis to divert attention away from this blatant and fundamental human rights abuse and deprivation of freedom.
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.