Jailed (illustration)
Photo: Reuters
Petition: Don't jail Palestinians in Israel
Human right groups file High Court petition demanding administrative detainees who reside in West Bank not be held in facilities 'outside occupied territory'
Several human right groups filed a High Court petition against Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter and Central Command Chief Major-General Gadi Shamni, demanding they refrain form holding administrative Palestinian detainees in security facilities located outside the West Bank.
Wednesday's petition, filed by The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Yesh Din – Volunteers for Human Rights and the Center for the Defense of the Individual, also asked the court to order that arraignment hearings for detainees who reside in the West Bank would not be held in facilities or courts "outside the occupied territory."
Modus
Cabinet discusses failure of talks aimed at securing Gilad Shalit's release for about three hours. Special ministerial committee appointed to examine ways to pressure Hamas. Justice minister compares Hamas to Hitler, says 'some lines will not be crossed'
Israel's practice of holding administrative Palestinian detainees in facilities located within its borders, is in violation of Geneva Convention norms and infringes on their right to due process, said the petition.
Observation of nearly 1,000 hearings held in various military courts, it added, revealed that the defendants' right to counsel is more often then none observed only for the sake of appearance, and that many of the detainees are not properly represented.
The petition also claimed that holding administrative detainees in Israel infringes on their visitation rights: "The plaintiffs can no longer abide this policy, which hinders the Palestinian detainees and their families' basic rights. This policy cannot withstand legal scrutiny and it is high time for it to be changed or abolished altogether."
