Administrative detention/ Hunger strike/Serious health concerns

TheInternational Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)requests your URGENT intervention in thefollowing situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Brief description of the situation

The International Secretariatof OMCT has been informed by Addameer and Al Haq, twomembers ofOMCT SOS-Torture Network, about the administrative detention of Mr. Samer Al-Barq,Mr. Hassan Safadi and Mr. Ayman Sharawna, as well as their serioushealth condition caused by their hunger strike in protest of their detention. OMCTalso remains concerned about the health condition of Mr. Mr. Akram Rikhawi who has ended his hungerstrike after 102 days.

According to the informationreceived, Mr. Samer Al-Barq is currently on the 66th day of his hungerstrike, which he started after a first hunger strike of 30 days. He is stayingat the Ramleh prison medical clinic, as the authorities refuse to release himto his home in the West Bank. According to his lawyer, who was able to visithim, his health is rapidly deteriorating. A few weeks ago Mr. Al-Barq’sheartbeat reportedly dropped to 35 beats per minute, an alarming andlife-threatening situation, after which he was transported to the Assaf HarofehHospital for a night. There, he was shackled to the hospital bed by threelimbs. At the moment he would suffer from vertigo, drastic weight loss andinvoluntary shivering and coldness in his legs, symptoms that may indicateperipheral nerve damage. The Israeli Prison Service has reportedly threatenedto forcibly treat or feed him if he continues his hunger strike.

Mr. Hassan Safadi is on the 36thday of his hunger strike, following a previous one of 71-days. He is currentlyheld at the Ramleh prison medical clinic awaiting a hearing on 6 August 2012(which should have been held on 25 July but was postponed). This hearing maydetermine the upholding of his administrative detention, as Mr. Safadi wasincluded in an agreement to end the hunger strike of Palestinian prisoners, andthus should have been released on 21 June 2012. Mr. Safadi’s health reportedlycontinues to deteriorate and he remains extremely weak.

According to the sameinformation, Mr. Ayman Sharawna is currently on the 26th day of hishunger strike. According to the prison exchange deal, which included therelease of more than 1’000Palestinian political prisoners in exchange for captured Israeli soldier GiladShalit,he was released last October, only to be re-arrested on 31 January 2012. Nocharges have been filed against him.

All of the three hungerstrikers are reportedly being denied access to an independent doctor.

OMCT has also been informedthat Mr. Akram Rikhawi has ended his hunger strike after 102 days on 22 July2012. He has reportedly reached an agreement with the Israeli Prison Service,which includes his release on 25 January 2013 – six months prior to hisoriginal release date, and his return to his home in the Gaza Strip upon hisrelease. However, he remains detained in Ramleh prison in criticalcondition.

BackgroundInformation

Israel has been holdinghundreds of persons from the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) in administrative detention. In the occupied Palestinian West Bank, the Israeli armycarries out administrative detention on the basis of Military Order 1651, whichempowers military commanders to detain an individual for up to six months ifthey have “reasonable grounds to presume that the security of the area orpublic security require the detention.” On or just before the expiry date, thedetention order is also frequently renewed and this process can be continuedindefinitely.

Administrative detention deprives detainees of basic safeguards,including the right to challenge the evidence on which the detention is based,warrants are not required, and the detainee may be held in incommunicadodetention for an extended period, subject to renewal.

The United Nations Committee Against Torture has expressed its concernthat administrative detention does not conform with article 16 of theConvention[1].This type of indefinite administrative detention, following manifestly unfairproceedings, can amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

OMCT expresses its deep concern about the situation of the three hunger strikers and Mr. AkramRikhawi, and urges the competent authorities totake immediate measures in order to ensure that they receive a proper medicaltreatment in an adquate medical facility, and that they are treated humanlyunder all circumstances. OMCT is indeed concerned that detainees carrying out ahunger strike are getting punished, including by being held in solitaryconfinement and schackled.

OMCT is also concerned that the procedure under which their administrativedetention has been ordered do not meet international human rights standards, including their right not to be arbitrarily detainedas well as their absolute right at all times not to be subjected to any cruel,inhuman or degrading treatment.

Action requested

Please write to theauthorities in Israel urging them to:

i. Guarantee, in all circumstances, the physical andpsychological integrity of Mr. Akram Rikhawi, Mr. Samer Al-Barq,Mr. Hassan Safadi and Mr. Ayman Sharawna;

ii. Cease the practice of solitary confinement;

iii. Guarantee their unconditional access to independentphysicians;

iv. Order their immediate transfer to a public hospital withadequate care that does not include being shackled while in the hospital;

v. Guarantee unconditional access to all members of theirfamilies, and guarantee that the family members are provided with allinformation concerning their medical condition;

vi. Order their immediate release in the absence of validlegal charges that are consistent with international legal standards, or, if suchcharges exist, bring them promptly before an impartial, independent andcompetent tribunal that will ensure due process at all times;

vii. Carry out a prompt, effective, thorough,independent and impartial investigation into the aforementioned facts, the result of whichmust be made public, in order to bring those responsible before a competent,independent and impartial tribunal and apply penal, civil and/or administrativesanctions as provided by law;

viii. Guarantee that adequate compensation is awarded to them for the violation of their human rights;

ix. At all times ensure strict respect for internationalhuman rights and humanitarian law in the exercise of its jurisdiction,including in connection with military operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Addresses

Ø Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister,Office of the Prime Minister, 3, Kaplan Street, PO Box 187, Kiryat Ben-Gurion,Jerusalem, Israel, Fax: +972- 2-6512631, Email: pm_eng@pmo.gov.il

Ø Brigadier General Danny Efroni, Military JudgeAdvocate General, 6 David Elazar Street, Hakirya, Tel Aviv, Israel, Fax: +972 3 608 0366, +972 3 5694526, Email: arbel@mail.idf.il, avimn@idf.gov.il

Ø LieutenantGeneral Aharon Franco, Israel Prison ServiceCommissioner, Israel Prison Service, PO Box 81, Ramleh 72100, Israel, Fax: +9728 919 3800

Ø M. Ehud Barak, Deputy Prime Minister andMinister of Defense, 37 Kaplan Street, Hakirya, Tel Aviv 61909, Fax. + 972 3691 6940 / 696 2757

Ø Permanent Mission of Israel to the UnitedNations Office and Specialized Institutions in Geneva, Avenue de la Paix 1-3,1202 Geneva, Fax: +41 22 716 05 55,Email: mission-israel@geneva.mfa.gov.il

Please also write to theembassies of Israel in your respective country.

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Geneva, 26 July2012.

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

[1] CAT/C/ISR/CO/4, para 17.