More than 7500 Arab prisoners, including 37 women, are languishing in Zionist jails. This was stated at the last April 27 in Moscow press conference, Chairman of the Committee’s assistance to Palestinian prisoners in Israel Faris Faris Riyadh.
Palestinian human rights lawyer Riad Faris Faris travels on a number of countries around the world to draw global attention to the horrendous plight of Palestinian and Arab prisoners in Israeli jails, where there are massive violations of human rights. The arrival of Mr. Faris associated with celebrated in April, the International Day of Palestinian prisoners.
According to Mr. Faris, Arab and Palestinian prisoners in Israel who are not citizens of this country, should take prisoners, since they seized at their residence (eg, in the West Bank or Gaza Strip) and forcibly taken to the dungeons of Israel. Territories occupied by Israel in any way can not be in the jurisdiction of the Israeli military courts.
Speaking of the problems existing in 1993, the Committee’s assistance to the Palestinian prisoners, Mr. Faris pointed to three main ones: the contents of a network of lawyers who handle cases of Palestinian prisoners, advocating the rights of prisoners in international organizations, programs of material assistance to prisoners and their families, up to the retraining of liberated prisoners.
According to Palestinian human rights activist, the thesis that “Israel is a bastion of democracy in the Middle East”, is completely untrue.
Israel is the only country in the world where the practice of indefinite administrative detention of people in jail without trial, on mere suspicion in any activity allegedly harming Israel’s existence. Administrative detainees, according to Mr. Faris, are the real “prisoners of conscience”. Their human rights are absolutely not guaranteed. “Prisoners of conscience” are denied the right to visit relatives, lawyers from the Palestinian territories to them is not tolerated. If you hire an attorney – a citizen of Israel (Arab or Jew) – that it was “lawful” (in Israeli) way may be disqualified from conducting business for a month, and then extend the suspension.
In general, according to counsel, the conditions of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails appalling. Food is disgusting, it is preparing hands of Jewish criminals, who due to a blood hatred for Muslims sometimes intentionally make food for the prisoners uneatable. Arab prisoners in Israeli prisons do not provide adequate medical care. According to Faris, recently dead another Palestinian prisoners who had not received timely medical care – Raed Hammad. As regards violence, torture and humiliation of the person deprived of freedom of the Arabs, the Zionist prisons, they are the “norm”.
As said by Mr. Faris, in Israeli jails many Arab children and adolescents aged 14 to 18 years. Their status is very different from the status of Jewish offenders of the same age. According to Israeli law, a young man of 18 years is considered a minor. Therefore, investigation and trial should be held with the obligatory presence of a lawyer and parents. The trial of the teenagers in Israel have special “children” of the judge. And finally, punishment, even in the case of a Jewish teenager serious crime may be in the form of house arrest.
None of these items does not apply to Arab youths. The Israeli authorities have judged them as adults, ranging from 14 years old, do not give rights to parents or attorneys present during the investigation and for any minor fault is sent young men to prison.
Israel, according to a lawyer Faris, prohibit access to his prison any foreign human rights defenders, including representatives of international organizations, leading human rights monitoring in places of detention. Himself, Mr. Faris 10 years is “restricted to entry into Israel from his hometown of Nablus.
He touched Mr. Faris and the fate of Palestinian female captives. Conditions of detention are no better than the conditions of male prisoners. In addition, many Muslim women with children are denied the right to communicate with their children because all children older than 2 years in Israeli prisons, separated from their mothers. Separately, a lawyer Faris referred to a young Muslim woman Sarahna Irene (nee Polishchuk). She was unjustly convicted for allegedly aiding anti-Israeli activities of her husband. Faris’s lawyer appealed to the authorities in Ukraine, a citizen of which is still Irena, with a request to be promoted to rescue unjustly convicted of the Zionist dungeons.
Riyad Faris Faris complained that the governments of all countries do not consider the problem of Palestinian prisoners as paramount, while the fate of one only of Israeli Corporal Shalit a prisoner of war is being discussed at various levels. Especially disappointing, according to counsel, the indifference of the Arab rulers to cases of prisoners the Palestinian brothers.
At the end of the press conference, Mr. Faris said that the fundamental solution to the problems of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails can be found only in the case of solving the main problem – withdrawing the occupation of Palestinian lands.
