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Political Arrest....... What
for?
Volume 4, Issue 3: The Palestinian Human Rights Monitor
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11. Testimonies
a) The suffering of a wife: “Deportation to Marj al-Zuhour (in South
Lebanon) is over; Deportation to Jericho has started”
The wife of prisoner Abdallah Qawasmi, who was arrested on the 10th
anniversary of the establishment of Hamas Islamic movement on 14 January
1998 and who was detained in the General Intelligence prison in Jericho
for 130 days, said that the administration of the prison blamed her for
bringing a radio set to her husband. “The guard stood near us during the
weekly visit so that my husband would not tell me anything about the
conditions inside the prison.” She said that the visit to Jericho prison
would cost US $ 100 in addition to the long journey from Hebron which is
very tiring, especially for children. She ended her testimony by stating
that “the deportation of my husband to Marj al-Zuhour in South Lebanon by
Israel is over, but now the PA is deporting him to Jericho”.
Brother of Sheikh Abdallah, Shafiq, said that their father who is very old
(94 years) and suffers from illness wanted very much to speak to Abdallah
after his health became very bad. Despite this fact, the administration of
Jericho prison refused to let Abdallah speak with his father on the phone.
b) From the prisons of the Israeli authorities to the prison of the
Authority
Khaled Abu Maghseeb from Gaza was arrested more than 8 times by the
Palestinian Security Services: the first occassion was in late 1995, 5
months after his release from Israeli prisons by the Palestinian General
Intelligence. He was arrested at his house by a force of 10 men. He
states:
“They took me to a detention center called al-Rawda, where they
blindfolded me and made me sit on a small chair. I remained in this
position for 5 days. They then took me to a very small cell where I was
held for 25 days. And all this whilst not knowing the reason for my
detention. On 30 October 95 I was arrested for the second time by the
Preventive Security. They took me to an officer called “Abu-Hmeid” who
started questioning me about the death of Fathi al-Shiqaqi in Malta and my
relationship with the Islamic Jihad. I replied that I did not know
anything, so he beat me on my head and face several times. I lost my
hearing in my left ear. They brought in a doctor to check me and he said
that my left eardrum had a hole. He wrote a medical prescription, but they
did not bring me the medication. When officer “Abu-Hmeid” asked how I
felt, I told him what the doctor had said. He called the doctor and made
him change his diagnosis. Then they put me in underground solitary
confinement for 3 continuous months. Those cells underground are new,
built by the PA. The space in the cell is 1x1.5m and the food was very
bad. They only allowed me to go to the toilet after I had banged on the
door for a long time. I wore the same clothes and they allowed aone family
visit after 2 months. They then transferred me to a cell above the ground.
It goes without saying that they did not allow a lawyer to visit me. I was
released in January 1996 and was rearrested after six months”.
c) “Jesus Christ”
Sa’ed al-Aqra’ from Salfit and 25 years of age was arrested on 12 June
1997 at Qalqilia where he lived. Two persons came to his house and asked
him to come to the Intelligence offices in Qalqilia regarding a certain
matter. He was detained there for 40 days in rooms of the military
personnel. His food was their leftovers and he had to look after his own
hygene. They then took him to the military collaboration service where he
was put in a cell for 3 months. He was not allowed to leave his cell, not
even for the “break”. His cell was very dirty, with insects and mice in
it, and smelt very bad. He was transferred to Jericho prison for 10 days
where he stayed in rooms originally used for soldiers to sleep and not for
detainees. They then made him work as a blacksmith for 4 months. He was
then taken to Juneid prison where they put him in solitary confinement for
9 months. They used to bang on the metal door of his cell, even late at
night, and so he became mad. The soldiers began to call him “Jesus Christ”
and humiliate him, and so his psychological situation deteriorated even
more. The prison guards used him to frighten other prisoners, by pushing
and beating him severely in front of the others. They also forced him to
clean things for the soldiers. In total, he remained in cells for 22
months. He became psychologically very ill. He was released on 15 March
2000.
It is worth mentioning here that he was detained after the arrest of his
brother who had obtained explosives: his detention was ostensibly to
protect him from the Israelis.
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