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Urgent campaigns / Urgent Interventions / Israel / 2011 / June

Israel: Arbitrary use of administrative detention against a Palestinian man_Harsh conditions of arrest

Case ISR 010611

Arbitrary use of administrative detention against a Palestinian man/ Harsh conditions of arrest

The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Brief description of the situation

The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by a reliable source and Antenna International, a member organisation of OMCT SOS-Torture Network, about the administrative detention of Mr. Ahmad Qatamish, 60 years old and permanent resident of Al-Bireh (in the West Bank), as well as of the harsh conditions of his arrest.

According to the information received, on 21 April 2011 at approximately 2 am, a group of Israeli soldiers arrested Mr.Ahmad Qatamish at his brother’s home located in Ramallah. The Israeli soldiers had previously gone, at approximately 1 am, to Mr.Ahmad Qatamish’s family home in Al-Bireh to look for him. They reportedly surrounded the house before entering, without producing any arrest warrant, and kept Mr.Ahmad Qatamish’s wife, his 22 years old daughter and two other female relatives aged 14 and 69, in order to compel Mr.Ahmad Qatamish to surrender. The soldiers reportedly aimed their guns at Mr.Ahmad Qatamish’s wife and daughter’s heads. They forced Mr. Ahmad Qatamish’s daughter, at gunpoint, to call her father to ask for his surrender. A soldier then grabbed the phone and threatened Mr. Ahmad Qatamish with destroying the house and continuing to hold his family, if he did not comply. After his arrest, Mr.Ahmad Qatamish was transferred to Ofer Detention Centre, located near Ramallah, where he was interrogated for 10 minutes about his personal information, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) (including whether he was a member or he knew anyone who is a member) and whether he had already been detained in Israel before.

On 3 May 2011, at around 12 pm, the Ofer Military Court reportedly informed Mr.Ahmad Qatamish’s lawyer that his client would be released by 5.00 pm. However, at around 5:30 pm, Mr. Ahmad Qatamish’s lawyer was told that his client’s detention would be extended. During more than two hours, Mr.Ahmad Qatamish’s lawyer received contradictory information from the military court concerning the release of his client before being informed, at around 8.30 pm, that the Israeli military commander of the West Bank had issued an administrative detention order against Mr. Ahmad Qatamish. At 11 pm, his lawyer and family were informed by the Israeli Prison Service that the detention was ordered for six months. For about 3.5 hours, Mr.Ahmad Qatamish was left without a clear legal status.

According to the same information, the detention order issued on 3 May 2011 contained several format and content errors[1]. Although the order was signed by the Head of the Central Military Commander as required by the Israeli military legislation, it was stamped by a less senior Commander for the Region, Mr. Yair Kolam. On 4 May 2011, the Israeli military authorities issued a new detention order but it was once again stamped by Mr. Yair Kolam. On 8 May 2011, the Ofer Military Judge requested that the two previous detention orders be discarded and that a new one be presented that was stamped by Mr. Avi Mizrahi, Head of the Central Military Command.

According to Mr.Ahmad Qatamish’s current administrative detention order, he is detained for posing an unspecified security risk. The military judge reportedly claimed that the security risk was related to Mr. Ahmad Qatamish’s alleged connections to the PFLP and his alleged “planning” of unspecified activities. On 15 May 2011, during a closed hearing, where neither Mr. Ahmad Qatamish nor his lawyer were allowed to assist, the Israel Securities Authorities (ISA) was meant to present any secret evidence it had against Mr. Ahmad Qatamish to the Military Judge. On 19 May 2011, Mr. Ahmad Qatamish was eventually informed that his detention order was approved by the Military Judge for a period of four months. The military judge reportedly considered that the mistakes made in the first two detention orders as well as the few hours of illegal detention were balanced out by the security risk Mr. Ahmad Qatamish would be posing. Mr. Ahmad Qatamish is now to be held detained, without charge or trial, until 2 September 2011.

Mr. Ahmad Qatamish has had reportedly access to a doctor and he has regular access to his lawyer. However, to date, his wife has not yet received the authorization needed to visit him.

Background Information

According to the same information, several years ago, Mr. Ahmad Qatamish was arrested by Israeli authorities and detained for a period of six years. He was arbitrarily detained for a year between 1992 and 1993, during which time he was allegedly tortured. From October 1993 to 1998, he was placed in administrative detention (the detention orders were repeatedly renewed) before being released in 1998.

Israel has been holding hundreds of persons from the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) in administrative detention. In the occupied Palestinian West Bank, the Israeli army carries out administrative detention on the basis of Military Order 1651, which empowers military commanders to detain an individual for up to six months if they have “reasonable grounds to presume that the security of the area or public security require the detention.” On or just before the expiry date, the detention order is also frequently renewed and this process can be continued indefinitely.

Administrative detention deprives detainees of basic safeguards, including the right to challenge the evidence on which the detention is based, warrants are not required, and the detainee may be held in incommunicado detention for an extended period, subject to renewal.

The United Nations Committee Against Torture has already expressed concern that administrative detention does not conform with article 16 of the Convention[2]. This type of indefinite administrative detention, following manifestly unfair proceedings, can amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

The International Secretariat of OMCT expresses its deep concern about the situation of Mr.Ahmad Qatamish and, in particular, the fact that the procedure under which his administrative detention has been ordered does not meet international human rights standards, including his right not to be arbitrarily detained as well as his right to a fair trial and his absolute right at all times not to be subjected to any cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

Action requested

Please write to the authorities in Israel urging them to:

i.                     Guarantee, in all circumstances, the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Ahmad Qatamish;

ii.                   Guarantee immediate and full access to all members of his family, adequate medical care and his lawyer;

iii.                  Order his immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges that are consistent with international legal standards, or, if such charges exist, bring him promptly before an impartial, independent and competent tribunal that will ensure due process at all times;

iv.                 Guarantee that adequate compensation is awarded to Mr.Ahmad Qatamish and to his family for the violation of their human rights;

v.                   At all times ensure strict respect for international human rights in the exercise of its jurisdiction, including in connection with military operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Addresses

Ø      Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister, Office of the Prime Minister, 3, Kaplan Street, PO Box 187, Kiryat Ben-Gurion, Jerusalem, Israel, Fax: +972- 2-651 2631, Email: pm_eng@pmo.gov.il

Ø      Mr. Menachem Mazuz, Attorney General, Fax: + 972 2 627 4481; + 972 2 628 5438; +972 2 530 3367

Ø      Brigadier General Avihai Mandelblit, Military Judge Advocate General, 6 David Elazar Street, Hakirya, Tel Aviv, Israel, Fax:  +972 3 608 0366, +972 3 569 4526, Email: arbel@mail.idf.il, avimn@idf.gov.il

Ø      Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations Office and Specialized Institutions in Geneva, Avenue de la Paix 1-3, 1202 Geneva, Fax: +41 22 716 05 55, Email: mission-israel@geneva.mfa.gov.il

Please also write to the embassies of Israel in your respective country.

***

Geneva, 1 June 2011

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.



[1] According to the information received, the detention order called for an extension of Mr. Ahmad Qatamish’s administrative detention, despite the fact that it was his first order in years. It also referred to him being a suspected Hamas activist although the authorities had originally given the grounds of his arrest as his membership of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a claim that Mr. Ahmad Qatamish has denied. It has also been tampered with using correction fluid to include Mr. Ahmad Qatamish’s name.

[2] CAT/C/ISR/CO/4, para 17.

Properties

Date: June 1, 2011
Activity: Urgent campaigns
Type: Urgent Interventions
Country: Israel
Subjects: Arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances, Torture and violence

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