Israel/OPT
16.04.03
Urgent Interventions
Israel: Mr. Bashar Marwan Fretah continues to be detained in poor conditions
Case ISR 160403
Arbitrary and incommunicado detention / Ill-treatment
The International Secretariat of the OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Israel and the Occupied Territories.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI), a member of the OMCT network, of the incommunicado detention of Mr. Bashar Marwan Fretah.
According to the information received, Bashar Marwan Fretah, a resident of Nablus, was arrested on February 22nd, 2003. He was reportedly held in the GSS Interrogation Unit at the Skima Detention Center in Ashkelon. According to the information received, on March 27th, 2003, a military court ordered that Mr. Fretah’s detention be prolonged for a further fifteen days. It is reported that Mr. Fretah’s attorney, Mr. Andre Rosenthal, attempted to visit his client, but was barred from doing so. An “Order Prohibiting Meeting With Council” was reportedly issued against Mr. Fretah, and was valid until March 31st, 2003.
According to the information received, Mr. Rosenthal, who represents PCATI, filed a petition on March 27th, 2003, with the High Court of Justice demanding that the order be lifted. However, the petition was withdrawn when the High Court informed Mr. Rosenthal that it would not lift the order. It is reported that Mr. Fretah’s incommunicado detention was then extended to April 7th, 2003. According to the information received, Mr. Rosenthal was finally able to meet with his client on April 9th, 2003.
It is reported that Mr. Fretah described the harsh conditions that he was held in to Mr. Rosenthal. According to the information received, Mr. Fretah was held in a small, windowless cell with 9 other detainees. They were all reportedly forced to sleep on mattresses on the floor and were required to eat their meals in the cell. Mr. Fretah also reported that the toilets were close to the cell and there was an unbearable smell coming from them. Mr. Fretah was reportedly denied a daily walk, and had not been allowed outdoors since his arrest. On April 8, 2003, he, along with other detainees, reportedly went on a hunger strike demanding that their detention conditions be improved. Mr. Fretah’s detention was extended a further fifteen days on April 10, 2003. Mr. Rosenthal reportedly wrote to the State Attorney’s Office to demand that Mr. Fretah be taken out of the interrogation unit and be moved to a regular prison.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Fretah, given the fact that he was being held incommunicado, and continues to be detained in conditions that constitute ill-treatment. OMCT calls on the Israeli authorities to order his immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges, and if such charges exist, to ensure that he is given a prompt and fair trial, in which his procedural rights are guaranteed at all time; to guarantee that he is provided with adequate reparation; and to guarantee that he is granted access to legal representation and family visits.
Action Requested
Please write to the authorities in Israel urging them to:
i. guarantee Mr. Fretah’s physical and psychological integrity at all times;
ii. provide Mr. Fretah with immediate access to legal representation and family visits;
iii. order Mr. Fretah’s immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges, or if such charges exist, bring him before a competent and impartial court and guarantee his procedural rights at all times;
iv. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these events in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
v. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
· Ariel Sharon, Prime Minister, Office of the Prime Minister, 3 Kaplan
Street, PO Box 187, Kiryat Ben-Gurion, Jerusalem 91919, Israel. Fax:
+ 972 2 651 2631, E-mail: rohm@pmo.gov.il, pm_eng@pmo.gov.il
· Yosef Lapid, Minister of Justice, 29 Salah Eddin Street, Jerusalem
1010, Israel. Fax : + 972 2 628 8618, E-mail: sar@justice.gov.il
· Ambassador Yaakov Levy, Av. de la Paix 1-3, CH-1202, Genève, Suisse, e-mail : mission.israel@gva.mfa.gov.il, fax: +4122 716 05 55
In addition, please write to the Israeli embassies in your respective country.
Geneva, April 16th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply
Arbitrary and incommunicado detention / Ill-treatment
The International Secretariat of the OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Israel and the Occupied Territories.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI), a member of the OMCT network, of the incommunicado detention of Mr. Bashar Marwan Fretah.
According to the information received, Bashar Marwan Fretah, a resident of Nablus, was arrested on February 22nd, 2003. He was reportedly held in the GSS Interrogation Unit at the Skima Detention Center in Ashkelon. According to the information received, on March 27th, 2003, a military court ordered that Mr. Fretah’s detention be prolonged for a further fifteen days. It is reported that Mr. Fretah’s attorney, Mr. Andre Rosenthal, attempted to visit his client, but was barred from doing so. An “Order Prohibiting Meeting With Council” was reportedly issued against Mr. Fretah, and was valid until March 31st, 2003.
According to the information received, Mr. Rosenthal, who represents PCATI, filed a petition on March 27th, 2003, with the High Court of Justice demanding that the order be lifted. However, the petition was withdrawn when the High Court informed Mr. Rosenthal that it would not lift the order. It is reported that Mr. Fretah’s incommunicado detention was then extended to April 7th, 2003. According to the information received, Mr. Rosenthal was finally able to meet with his client on April 9th, 2003.
It is reported that Mr. Fretah described the harsh conditions that he was held in to Mr. Rosenthal. According to the information received, Mr. Fretah was held in a small, windowless cell with 9 other detainees. They were all reportedly forced to sleep on mattresses on the floor and were required to eat their meals in the cell. Mr. Fretah also reported that the toilets were close to the cell and there was an unbearable smell coming from them. Mr. Fretah was reportedly denied a daily walk, and had not been allowed outdoors since his arrest. On April 8, 2003, he, along with other detainees, reportedly went on a hunger strike demanding that their detention conditions be improved. Mr. Fretah’s detention was extended a further fifteen days on April 10, 2003. Mr. Rosenthal reportedly wrote to the State Attorney’s Office to demand that Mr. Fretah be taken out of the interrogation unit and be moved to a regular prison.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Fretah, given the fact that he was being held incommunicado, and continues to be detained in conditions that constitute ill-treatment. OMCT calls on the Israeli authorities to order his immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges, and if such charges exist, to ensure that he is given a prompt and fair trial, in which his procedural rights are guaranteed at all time; to guarantee that he is provided with adequate reparation; and to guarantee that he is granted access to legal representation and family visits.
Action Requested
Please write to the authorities in Israel urging them to:
i. guarantee Mr. Fretah’s physical and psychological integrity at all times;
ii. provide Mr. Fretah with immediate access to legal representation and family visits;
iii. order Mr. Fretah’s immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges, or if such charges exist, bring him before a competent and impartial court and guarantee his procedural rights at all times;
iv. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these events in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
v. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
· Ariel Sharon, Prime Minister, Office of the Prime Minister, 3 Kaplan
Street, PO Box 187, Kiryat Ben-Gurion, Jerusalem 91919, Israel. Fax:
+ 972 2 651 2631, E-mail: rohm@pmo.gov.il, pm_eng@pmo.gov.il
· Yosef Lapid, Minister of Justice, 29 Salah Eddin Street, Jerusalem
1010, Israel. Fax : + 972 2 628 8618, E-mail: sar@justice.gov.il
· Ambassador Yaakov Levy, Av. de la Paix 1-3, CH-1202, Genève, Suisse, e-mail : mission.israel@gva.mfa.gov.il, fax: +4122 716 05 55
In addition, please write to the Israeli embassies in your respective country.
Geneva, April 16th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply