RAMALLAH, February 18, 2016 (WAFA) – Four Palestinian administrative detainees in Israeli jails are currently hunger striking in protest of being detained without a charge or trial, according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS), a prisoners’ support group.
PPS said beside the case of journalist Mohammad al-Qiq, who has been on hunger strike for 86 days, two other detainees, Mohammad al-Muhur from Jenin and Rabee Jibril from Bethlehem, have been on hunger strike for 64 days and eight days respectively, also in protest of being detained based on secret information, without a charge or trial.
A fourth detainee, Samer al-Issawi from Jerusalem, has also been on hunger strike for five days in solidarity with al-Qiq, PPS added.
There are more than 500 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails being held under administrative detention, a controversial Israeli practice that allows detention of Palestinians without charge or trial for up to sex-month intervals that can be renewed indefinitely.
Multiple human rights groups have accused Israel of using administrative detention as a form of collective punishment against Palestinians, and that Israeli authorities use this kind of detention when they fail to obtain confessions in interrogations of Palestinian detainees.
Last month, the European Union’s mission in Jerusalem and Ramallah expressed their longstanding concern about Israel‘s extensive use of administrative detention without formal charge against Palestinians
“Beyond the well-known cases of Etraf Rimawi of the Palestinian Bisan Center for Research and Development, and Mohammed Abu Sakha, a trainer at the Palestinian Circus School, there are over 500 Palestinians, amongst them at least 4 minors, who are currently being held in administrative detention”, the mission said.
The mission added it was especially concerned about the deteriorating health condition of journalist Mohammed Al-Qiq, held in administrative detention in Israel for more than three months now, and on hunger strike since November 25, 2015.
“The EU calls for the full respect of international human rights obligations towards all prisoners. Detainees have the right to be informed about the charges underlying any detention, must be granted access to legal assistance, and be subject to a fair trial.”
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