Demo in support of Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike

dublin | rights, freedoms and repression | event notice Wednesday August 18, 2004 01:02 by Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign - IPSC supportpalestine at ireland dot com

Israeli Embassy, Thursday 19th @ 1pm

The IPSC is holding a demonstration at the Israeli Embassy, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, from 1pm to 2pm on Thursday the 19th of August, in support of Palestinian prisoners who have commenced a hunger strike this week in protest at the conditions in which they are held in Israeli prisons. More details can be read in the press release below.

We encourage all members and supporters to attend this demonstration and make their voice heard. Please bring flags, banners, keffiyas and noise!

Regards,
IPSC Dublin

The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) supports a call from the Committee for the Families of Political Prisoners and Detainees in the West Bank, representing 7,500 political prisoners currently in Israeli prisons, in support of a Prisoner hunger strike against the gross violations of Palestinian Prisoners human rights and against the appalling conditions Palestinians suffer in Israeli prisons.

Political prisoners in Israeli prisons have commenced a hunger strike on Sunday, August 15, 2004 to protest these conditions. Conditions they experience are reminiscent of the Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq in which prisoners were routinely tortured. Palestinians are routinely arrested, interned without trial, and held without access to legal representation.

IPSC are in support of the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI)condemnation of the ruthless and irresponsible remark made by Tzachi Hanegbi, Minister of Internal Security, regarding the hunger strike by security prisoners that "as far as I am concerned they can strike for a day, a month and onto death".

Some of the conditions that the prisoners are protesting include:
- Arbitrary and indiscriminate beating of prisoners in their cells, in prison courtyards and during transportation to and from prisons.
- Arbitrary and indiscriminate firing of tear gas into prisoner's cells and prison courtyards and intimidation of prisoners by guards entering their cells with guns.
- Humiliating strip searches of prisoners in full view of other prisoners and guards each time they enter or exit their cells
- Maintaining prisoners on near starvation diets that are insufficient to sustain health.
- Subjecting prisoners to solitary confinement for excessive periods of time, for months and even years.
- Confining children with adult prisoners and political prisoners with criminals
- Withholding or delaying medical treatment and the provision of medication to sick detainees.
- Severely restricting the category of family members entitled to visit prisoners thus denying visitation rights to other close family members.
- Arbitrary denial of travel permits to family members of prisoners living in the West Bank or Gaza so that they cannot travel to prisons to see their relatives.
- Imposing conditions on travel for family members and obstacles that result in travel of a few hours being prolonged to 16 or 17 hours for a 45-minute visit.
- Conducting humiliating strip searches of visiting family members even though they are usually separated from the prisoners by a full glass barrier as well as a wire mesh barrier.

Regarding the attitude of the Israeli Government, according to Hannah Friedman, Executive Director of PCATI, "it is unthinkable that an Israeli government minister would express himself in this fashion displaying a total disregard for the lives of the people in his custody. Prisoners are human beings entitled to humane conditions of incarceration in accordance with Israeli law and the international conventions ratified by the State of Israel."

The prisoners’ hunger strike follows a long line of complaints submitted by the Prisoners, PCATI and other human rights organizations concerning appalling conditions of imprisonment in the Israel Prison Service facilities, and the Public Defenders report of July 8, 2004, which likewise paints a dismal picture of the situation in the detention centers and prisons. In spite of all of these, no action has been taken by the authorities thus forcing the prisoners to strike in order to ensure that their basic rights are respected.

For more information visit www.palsolidarity.org/prisoners or telephone
(972) 2 277 4602 or email: info@palsolidarity.org
Mahmoud Ziadi, General Secretariat, Families of Palestinian Political Prisoners PO Box 2151, Ramallah, Palestine.

Issued by IPSC, for more details contact 086-8580158