Arab rights group: Lawyers for Hamas officials
Adalah, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, petitions High Court demanding that the three PA parliament members held in Israel be allowed to meet their attorneys, citing that security prisoners were forbidden to meet their attorneys since IDF soldier Gilad Shalit has been abducted
Adalah, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, filed a petition with the High Court on Monday against the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) for preventing the detained senior Hamas officials from meeting their lawyers. Hamas parliament members Mohammad Abu Tir, Ahmed Atuan, and Khaled Abu Arafa are held at the Ayalon prison and are prevented from meeting their attorneys.
The court is set to convene on Tuesday morning to deliberate on the issue of Hamas security prisoners and on security prisoners in general. Adalah claims that immediately after Corporal Gilad Shalit was abducted the IPS decided that attorneys will not be able to meet with security prisoners serving time in Israeli prisons.
Adalah said that the High Court has already acknowledged the right of prisoners and detainees to meet with attorneys as a basic right.
"The right of prisoners and detainees to meet attorneys is the main guarantee for keeping other individual rights they deserve," said officials at the Adalah and added that "Preventing lawyers from going there will practically risk the prisoner's ability to petition the court and demands his defense, as well as document, through his attorney, the harm he had suffered."
"Preventing lawyers from entering the prisons means putting the prisoners in complete isolation which unlawfully disconnects them from the outside world. Isolation of a prisoner or a detainee can increase the risk of exposing him to torture and humiliating treatment," read the petition, which directs the judges to Sir Nigel Rodley, a member of the United Nation's Human Rights Committee.
Petition against revoking residency
Ynet also learned that the Adalah Center is planning on filing a petition against the Internal Affairs Minister Ronnie Bar-On for revoking the residency of two Hamas parliament members and east Jerusalem residents Mahmoud Abu Tir and Kahled Abu Arafa.
"The Palestinian parliament members gave us the power of attorney and said if their residency is revoked they want to petition the High Court on the issue," attorney Abeer Baker told Ynet.
"It is impossible to contest a minister's decision when the attorneys are forbidden to meet prisoners. The result is violating prisoners' rights and their right for accessible courts, as is the norm and as the law requires. We are in a situation whereby we have to file a petition only so that the basic right of talking to an attorney is met," said Baker and explained that the residency petitions will be filed only after attorneys are allowed to meet with the prisoners.
