25 November

Two members of ICJ (International Commission of Jurists)/Sweden arrived at the invitation of LAW to observe the first appeals to the Military Appeals Committee against the continued extensions of administrative detention orders since a boycott was declared on 29 July 1996.

The appeals will be heard on behalf of Ahmad Qattamesh (administratively detained for four and a half years) and of Khaled Deleisheh (detained for over 60 months over the past five and a half years, and who is currently serving his seventh consecutive detention order). The administrative detainees declared a boycott on the appeals process, arguing that the process is inherently unjust as their orders are renewed on the basis of secret evidence which is not available to the detainees’ lawyers. Advocate Lea Tsemel is handling the case.

Ms. Birgitta Elfstrom and Ms. Anna Martinez will observe the appeals for ICJ/Sweden, which will be held on 27 November.

In a related development, administrative detainees have begun a hunger strike in Adamon Prison near Haifa, to protest poor prison conditions. They are demanding better quality food and an end to the practice of putting administrative detainees in isolation as a punishment.

In addition, Ms. Ataf Ilayan is entering her 34th day of hunger strike, protesting the use of administrative detention and demanding that she be set free.

There are currently over 500 administrative detainees held in Israeli prisons inside Israel. Not one has been tried or convicted of any offense. LAW demands the abolition of the use of administrative detention and calls for the Israeli government to bring to trial or release immediately all of the Palestinian administrative detainees. LAW also demands that the Israeli authorities stop renewing administrative detention orders. Continued administrative detention of Palestinian detainees is a violation of international law and human rights principles prohibiting prolonged administrative detention.

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.