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New
appeal rejected
UPDATE:
On Thursday 21.6.2001,
the appeal filed by Attorneys Pacheco and Schwartz against a
new extension of Mr. Al-Ahmar’s detention was heard in the
Military Court of Appeals in Beit El, in the presence of Mr.
Al-Ahmar, PHRMG Director Bassem Eid and a PCATI
representative.
During the hearing,
the judge expressed his dissatisfaction with the file
presented to him by the Israeli General Security Services,
on the basis of which they requested an extension of Mr.
Al-Ahmar’s interrogation. The judge, who already heard the
first appeal by Mr. Al-Ahmar on 5.6.2001, noted that no new
evidence had been added to the file, and therefore refused
to issue his decision.
Regrettably, instead
of accepting the appeal in light of the obvious lack of
“secret evidence” held against Mr. Al-Ahmar, the judge
decided to grant the GSS a new deadline to present
sufficient evidence. On Friday 22.6.2001, now satisfied with
the evidence presented to him – to which, again, neither
Mr. Al-Ahmar nor his attorneys have access – the judge
rejected the appeal.
Once again, PCATI and
PHRMG are appalled by this flagrant bias in the legal system
that Palestinian detainees face in Military courts. Instead
of accepting the appeal, the court granted a new deadline to
the GSS, thereby allowing them to revise their file and
“add” evidence overnight. PHRMG and PCATI vigorously
protest the continuing detention of Mr. Al-Ahmar in light of
the doubtful nature of the evidence against him.
BACKGROUND
INFORMATION
Mr. Abed Rahman
al-Ahmar is a well-known Palestinian human rights activist,
who works as a field researcher with the Palestinian Human
Rights Monitoring Group (PHRMG). Mr. Al-Ahmar was arrested
and beaten by Israeli security forces on 24.5.2001 and has
since been held in detention, first at Gush Etzion
military detention center, and since Wednesday
30.5.2001 at the Russian Compound detention center in
Jerusalem.
On Wednesday,
30.5.2001, Mr. al-Ahmar's detention was extended by 20 days,
without the presence or the knowledge of Attorney Yossi
Schwartz, who represented Mr. al-Ahmar and had just visited
him on 27.5.2001. Attorney Schwartz filed an appeal of this
extension on Monday, 4.6.2001, but the appeal was rejected
the following day (5.6.2001) by the Military Court of
Appeals in Beit El, West Bank.
On 10.6.2001, Attorney
Allegra Pacheco discovered that Mr. Al-Ahmar had been
tortured, shackled in tight handcuffs to a slanting chair
for the entire day. This torture method, known as
“shabeh,” was outlawed by the Israeli Supreme Court on 6
September 1999. The next day, 11.6.2001, Attorney Pacheco
filed a petition with the High Court against the torture,
but the petition was rejected in a hearing held on
12.6.2001. Although Mr. Al-Ahmar vomited in Court and showed
the red marks on his wrists to the justices, the court ruled
that it could find no evidence of torture.
On 18.6.2001, the
initial 20-days interrogation period of Mr. Al-Ahmar came to
an end and another hearing was convened in order to decide
on an extension of his detention. Attorney Pacheco was
informed of the hearing barely a few hours in advance. After
a lot of discussions several observers were admitted into
the courtroom. Although the GSS admitted holding no
incriminating evidence against Mr. Al-Ahmar, the judge
extended his detention for another 15 days.
Mr. al-Ahmar was
imprisoned several times in the past. He was tortured
repeatedly by the GSS while detained at the Russian Compound
and, as a result, still suffers from a hiatal hernia and
severe back problems. He sued the GSS for damages but the
decision is still pending. He has now been adopted as a
prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International.
For further
details please contact:
PCATI - Hannah
Friedman: Tel. 02-5630073, 056-556442
PHRMG - Mireille Widmer: Tel. 02-5823372
APPEALS TO:
Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon
Office of the Prime Minister
3 Kaplan Street, PO Box 187
Kiryat Ben-Gurion
Jerusalem 91919
Fax: + 972 2 651 2631
Uzi Landau
Minister of Public Security
Ministry of Public Security (Police)
Kiryat Hamemshala
PO Box 18182
Jerusalem 91181
Fax: + 972 2 5847872
Meir Shetrit
Minister of Justice
Ministry of Justice
29 Salah al-Din Street
Jerusalem 91010
Fax: + 972 2 628 8618
Eli Yishai
Minister of the Interior
Ministry of Interior
2 Kaplan Street
PO Box 6158
Kiryat Ben Gurion
Jerusalem 91061
Fax: + 972 2 670 1628
Elyakim Rubinstein
Attorney-General
Ministry of Justice
29 Salah al-Din Street
Jerusalem 91010
Fax: + 972 2 628 5438
Kindly send copies of
emails, faxes, or other correspondence regarding Mr.
al-Ahmar’s detention to:
PHRMG <admin@phrmg.org>
Fax 02-5823385
PCATI <pcati@netvision.net.il>
Fax 02-566 5477
ALL THE COPIES OF
YOUR LETTERS WILL BE KEPT AND GIVEN TO MR. AL-AHMAR AFTER
HIS RELEASE!
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