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6. A
comparison with International law
Detaining a person
without charge or trial represents a serious breach of the individual’s
right of freedom and protection from arbitrary apprehension, his right to
freedom of opinion, belief, thought and
his right to a fair
trial. Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article
9(1) of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
provides that “everyone has the
right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be subjected to
arbitrary arrest or detention.
No one shall be deprived of his
liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedure as
are established by law.”
We do not intend to
make a detailed comparison between national and international provisions,
but do want to clarify that the proposed Palestinian Basic Law does not
include the phrase “arbitrary detention or apprehension” as mentioned in
both of the aforementioned international texts. It simply contains the
condition that arrest and detention “be in accordance with the law”.
Article 9 of the
ICCPR should be read as favoring a wide interpretation of the notion of
arbitrariness in arrest and detention. National law must be framed
accordingly. If it is not framed accordingly, it violates humanitarian
principles and international law.
Arbitrary arrest
and detention is not only inhuman, but also illegal. It violates minimum
international standard of justice which should be protected under national
law. The law itself must not be arbitrary.
In the name of the
Compassionate and Merciful God
To President
Yasser Arafat, May God bless and protect him,
Greetings
from the homeland,
Based on our
belief that you do not approve of injustice and of oppression of any
individual in the Palestinian community, we first of all express our
good wishes to you on the occasion of Eid al-Adha [a Moslem holiday]. We
take this opportunity to call upon your conscience and goodness in order
to put an end to our suffering and sorrow by ordering the release of our
father Talal Abdallah al-Harkaly and his brothers Sami and Hani from
Gaza Central Prison where they have been detained since 25 January 1995.
They are detained by the General Intelligence Service, charged with an
offense they never committed.
We have great
hope that you can end our suffering,
May God help you
as a protector of the weak,
Children of the detainees
In the name of the
Compassionate and Merciful God
To President
Yasser Arafat, may God protect him,
Firstly, we
wish to express our warm greetings and best wishes to you on the
occasion of al-Isra’ wa al-Mi’raj [a Moslem holiday] and for the holy
month of Ramadan. We pray that on the next celebration of these holy
dates, we will be celebrating our independent state with Jerusalem the
Holy City as its capital.
Mr. President,
We have been
detained by the Preventive Security Service for more than two years.
Over a year ago, the High Court ordered some of us to be released, but
to no avail. We have been promised to be released time and time again,
but nothing has happened. They have promised to transfer us to Ramallah,
but have not done so.
We have written
many letters to officials in the Preventive Security Service, but to no
avail. Not even on the occasion of the holy feast did they release us:
not even for an hour, unlike some of the other prisoners.
Mr President,
Soon we will
begin the holy month of Ramadan when we await the release of our
brothers from Israeli prisons. We hope that after more than two years of
suffering and pain, you will fulfill our wish and restore us our
happiness by ordering our release and by permitting us to return to our
families.
Your sons, political prisoners under the
authority of the Preventive Security Service – Jericho
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