Palestine
10.05.00
Urgent Interventions
Palestine Autonomous Areas: teacher arrested and detained
Palestine: teacher arrested and detained
Case PAL 100500
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Palestine Autonomous Areas.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment (LAW), a member of the OMCT network, of the arrest and detention of Mr. Omar Asaf, teacher and member of the High Co-ordination Committee of Teachers.
According to the information received, Mr. Asaf was arrested at 1:00am on Friday 5 May 2000. He was remanded in custody without recourse to the legal procedures of arrest and detention. In addition, all visits to Mr. Asaf have been banned, including those from his lawyer and family. According to the information it is only the Attorney General who is authorised to ban visits to detainees in the event of certain cases stipulated by law, none of which relate to Mr. Asaf's case.
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed that the arrest of Mr. Asaf is related to the current teacher's strike. State school teachers are striking in protest of the inaction of the Parliament Ministerial Committee with regards to their demands for improvement in teaching conditions. It is further reported that the General Intelligence (the Department of Institutional Security) have summoned a number of teacher activists throughout the West Bank for interrogation about their membership in the teachers’ union and their participation in protest action.
According to information received, on Wednesday May 3 2000, Mr. Asaf was a guest on the 'Voice of Love and Peace' radio station which ran a program concerning the teachers' strike. On the evening of Friday May 5 2000, the Palestinian Police shut down the radio station because "it violated its registration code by broadcasting false information". The chief of police stated that during the May 3 broadcast, Mr. Asaf incorrectly accused the Palestinian Authority of mishandling the education budget.
The International Secretariat is concerned with the breach of the right to freedom of speech and non-violent protest, as well as the measures taken to prevent teachers from voicing their concerns, as with the arrest of Mr. Asaf and the closing of the 'Love and Peace' radio station.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Palestine Autonomous Areas urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Omar Asaf and order his immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges or, if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee his procedural rights at all times;
ii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
Yasser Arafat, President of the Palestinian Authority, Abu Khadra Building, Omar al-Mukhtar Street, Gaza, via Israel. Fax : + 972 7 2822 365/6 ( if voice, say "fax, please").
Palestinian Authority, Minister of Justice, Abu Khadra Building, Omar al-al-Mukhtar Street, Gaza, via Israel.
Fax : + 972 7 822 236 or +972 7 286-7109
Khalid al-Qidrah, Attorney General, Palestinian Authority, Attorney General Building, Yarmouk, Gaza, via Israel. Fax : + 972 7 824 503.
Geneva, May 10, 2000
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Case PAL 100500
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Palestine Autonomous Areas.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment (LAW), a member of the OMCT network, of the arrest and detention of Mr. Omar Asaf, teacher and member of the High Co-ordination Committee of Teachers.
According to the information received, Mr. Asaf was arrested at 1:00am on Friday 5 May 2000. He was remanded in custody without recourse to the legal procedures of arrest and detention. In addition, all visits to Mr. Asaf have been banned, including those from his lawyer and family. According to the information it is only the Attorney General who is authorised to ban visits to detainees in the event of certain cases stipulated by law, none of which relate to Mr. Asaf's case.
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed that the arrest of Mr. Asaf is related to the current teacher's strike. State school teachers are striking in protest of the inaction of the Parliament Ministerial Committee with regards to their demands for improvement in teaching conditions. It is further reported that the General Intelligence (the Department of Institutional Security) have summoned a number of teacher activists throughout the West Bank for interrogation about their membership in the teachers’ union and their participation in protest action.
According to information received, on Wednesday May 3 2000, Mr. Asaf was a guest on the 'Voice of Love and Peace' radio station which ran a program concerning the teachers' strike. On the evening of Friday May 5 2000, the Palestinian Police shut down the radio station because "it violated its registration code by broadcasting false information". The chief of police stated that during the May 3 broadcast, Mr. Asaf incorrectly accused the Palestinian Authority of mishandling the education budget.
The International Secretariat is concerned with the breach of the right to freedom of speech and non-violent protest, as well as the measures taken to prevent teachers from voicing their concerns, as with the arrest of Mr. Asaf and the closing of the 'Love and Peace' radio station.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Palestine Autonomous Areas urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Omar Asaf and order his immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges or, if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee his procedural rights at all times;
ii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
Yasser Arafat, President of the Palestinian Authority, Abu Khadra Building, Omar al-Mukhtar Street, Gaza, via Israel. Fax : + 972 7 2822 365/6 ( if voice, say "fax, please").
Palestinian Authority, Minister of Justice, Abu Khadra Building, Omar al-al-Mukhtar Street, Gaza, via Israel.
Fax : + 972 7 822 236 or +972 7 286-7109
Khalid al-Qidrah, Attorney General, Palestinian Authority, Attorney General Building, Yarmouk, Gaza, via Israel. Fax : + 972 7 824 503.
Geneva, May 10, 2000
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.