|
14. Affidavit of Dr.
Abdel-Aziz Rantisi
Dr. Abdel-Aziz Rantisi was arrested on
9.4.1998.
“Pay
Attention: He is dangerous, no one should speak to him.”
“They
arrested me for the first time on 9 April 1998 after the assassination of
martyr Moheyeddin al-Sharif. They arrested me at noon and we arrived at
police headquarters in the evening. During the arrest they did not beat me
or push me but simply told me that my arrest was as consequence of
pressure exerted by American and Israeli intelligence. They placed me in
prison for a week, then they moved me into normal rooms that overlook
al-Azhar University in the building under the supervision of Colonel Talal
Abu-Zeid. They then took me back to prison after explaining that there
were special circumstances. I remained in prison until my mother died, was
released for a few days and was rearrested.
They explained
again that my arrest was due to pressure from Israel and the USA. They
fabricated a charge against me: incitement and spreading lies. This was
the charge they presented to the court. The judge postponed the judgment
five times in order to give the prosecution the opportunity to present
evidence, but they did not have any. By that time I had been in prison for
50 days. The judge then ordered my release. They only moved me to
al-Saraya prison and did not allow any visits for 4 months. I remained in
prison for 6 further months. They did not explain why they had not allowed
family visits.
It seemed that the
guards had orders not to speak with me. If it had been some other person,
he would have felt very lonely and upset, but I occupied my time with
reading the holy Qur’an and other books. I could only see the sun rays
coming through the narrow window. I demanded to have a “break” in the
courtyard but they refused.
The worst matter
was the family visits, because every time members of my family wanted to
come and see me they needed a permit from al-Jabaly, the Police Director.
They would make my family wait for 4 hours and then send them back home
without allowing them to see me. My son used to miss school to come to see
me, but they would not let him do so. They prevented him three times from
seeing me, so I went on hunger strike as a protest. They then promised not
to prevent my son from visiting me. Whenever my wife or brother visited
me, two policemen would sit very close to us. This was annoying.
I felt very
depressed when I read that they written next to my name the words “Pay
attention: He is dangerous”, because the Israelis used to write the same
phrase opposite my name.
As for my health it
was normal, they allowed me to take medication fordiabetes and when on one
occasion I had severe pains in my back, they brought in a doctor who said
that it was due to the uncomfortable bed. I subsequently slept on the
floor.”
|
