Israel/OPT
29.05.01
Urgent Interventions
Israel: release of Al-Mezan Center jurist Mr. Al-Hajjar
URGENT APPEAL – THE OBSERVATORY
New information
ISR 001/0501/OBS 036.1
Release
ISRAEL
May 29th 2001
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of FIDH and OMCT, would like to inform you about the following situation in Israel.
New information
The Observatory has been informed by the Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights of the release of Mr. Adnan Al-Hajjar, the Al-Mezan legal aid unit coordinator, on May 23rd, 2001, in Israel.
According to the information received, no official charges were brought against him during his time in prison, which lasted one month, and he was reportedly interrogated by the Israeli authorities for periods of up to 20 hours and deprived of sleep and food, in order to force false confessions from him.
The Observatory would like to thank all those who took action on his behalf. While being pleased by the news of Mr. Al-Hajjar's release, the Observatory wishes to express its concern about the Israeli authorities' use of arbitrary arrests the alleged ill-treatment that Mr. Al-Hajjar encountered during his detention.
Brief reminder of the situation
According to the information received, on April 23rd, 2001, Israeli border guards arbitrarily arrested Mr. Al-Hajjar, as he was returning to his home in the Jabalia refugee camp, Gaza, having attended a conference on legislative formulation between April 5th and April 23rd, 2001, which was held by the Arab Research and Training Center (ARTC) and sponsored by the Associates in Rural Development (ARD). Mr . Al-Hajjar’s trip was financed by USAID.
The Israeli media, including the Maariv newspaper and several radio stations, reportedly attempted to link Mr. Al-Hajjar with terrorist activities, including Osama Bin Laden's organisation. The misleading media reports allegedly suggested that Mr. Al-Hajjar was a new-comer to the Palestinian territories (according to the Jerusalem Post) and that he was attempting to enter the Occupied Teritories in order to establish an infrastucture for Bin Laden's organisation.
According to the information received, Mr. Al-Hajjar is, however, a permanent resident of the Gaza Strip who only seldomly travels abroad, predominantly for his studies and professional activities. According to his lawyer, it seems that Mr. Al-Hajjar's arrest was motivated by his activities as a Human Rights lawyer. Mr. Al-Hajjar was detained in Ashkelon Prison, although no formal accusation or charges were brought against him. He was not allowed access to his family during his detention, but was visited by his lawyer.
Geneva-Paris, May 29th, 2001
The Observatory, an FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need. The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
Tel : FIDH : +33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 ; OMCT : +41 22 809 49 39
E-mail : observatoire@iprolink.ch
New information
ISR 001/0501/OBS 036.1
Release
ISRAEL
May 29th 2001
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of FIDH and OMCT, would like to inform you about the following situation in Israel.
New information
The Observatory has been informed by the Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights of the release of Mr. Adnan Al-Hajjar, the Al-Mezan legal aid unit coordinator, on May 23rd, 2001, in Israel.
According to the information received, no official charges were brought against him during his time in prison, which lasted one month, and he was reportedly interrogated by the Israeli authorities for periods of up to 20 hours and deprived of sleep and food, in order to force false confessions from him.
The Observatory would like to thank all those who took action on his behalf. While being pleased by the news of Mr. Al-Hajjar's release, the Observatory wishes to express its concern about the Israeli authorities' use of arbitrary arrests the alleged ill-treatment that Mr. Al-Hajjar encountered during his detention.
Brief reminder of the situation
According to the information received, on April 23rd, 2001, Israeli border guards arbitrarily arrested Mr. Al-Hajjar, as he was returning to his home in the Jabalia refugee camp, Gaza, having attended a conference on legislative formulation between April 5th and April 23rd, 2001, which was held by the Arab Research and Training Center (ARTC) and sponsored by the Associates in Rural Development (ARD). Mr . Al-Hajjar’s trip was financed by USAID.
The Israeli media, including the Maariv newspaper and several radio stations, reportedly attempted to link Mr. Al-Hajjar with terrorist activities, including Osama Bin Laden's organisation. The misleading media reports allegedly suggested that Mr. Al-Hajjar was a new-comer to the Palestinian territories (according to the Jerusalem Post) and that he was attempting to enter the Occupied Teritories in order to establish an infrastucture for Bin Laden's organisation.
According to the information received, Mr. Al-Hajjar is, however, a permanent resident of the Gaza Strip who only seldomly travels abroad, predominantly for his studies and professional activities. According to his lawyer, it seems that Mr. Al-Hajjar's arrest was motivated by his activities as a Human Rights lawyer. Mr. Al-Hajjar was detained in Ashkelon Prison, although no formal accusation or charges were brought against him. He was not allowed access to his family during his detention, but was visited by his lawyer.
Geneva-Paris, May 29th, 2001
The Observatory, an FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need. The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
Tel : FIDH : +33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 ; OMCT : +41 22 809 49 39
E-mail : observatoire@iprolink.ch