Security Prisoners celebrate engagement
Terrorist celebrates engagement in jail
Samar Abu Kwick, security prisoner serving three life terms for murder of two soldiers, held engagement party in cell; video apparently shot by other inmates
This how Palestinian security prisoners celebrate in Israeli jails: A new video posted on social networks documents the engagement party of Samar Abu Kwick – a terrorist currently serving three life sentences in Eshel Prison for a terror attack perpetrated 10 year ago near Ramallah,
which claim the lives of two Israeli soldiers.
In response the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) said it viewed filming within the prison with the gravest severity.
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The video, which seems to have been shot by the prisoners themselves with the help of a mobile phone smuggled into the prison, shows the party held in Abu Kwick's cell and includes music, food and beverages. The prisoner himself (wearing a black jacket at 1:38) is seen receiving his party guests with hugs and kisses.
During the video, Ramzi Aubayd, a senior West Bank militant from the Fatah's military wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, can be seen congratulating Abu Kwick on his engagement.
Prisoner rights
Security prisoners are no longer allowed to take courses in the Open University or to take the Palestinian Authority's high-school matriculation exam, rights that were revoked when Gilad Shalit was in captivity.
They are however allowed a one-hour break in the prison yard and access to the prison's canteen. For the rest of their time, prisoners are confined to their cells, and this is presumably when the engagement party video was shot.
Unlike criminal prisoners, security prisoners are denied conjugal visits and the right to marry while serving time. More so, they are denied even the right to meet their bride or fiancé.
The Israeli Prison Service stressed that they are working extensively to halt the smuggling of mobile phones into prison, however, they admitted, the video testifies to the fact that there are still unconfiscated phones inside the cells.
They additionally requested to stress that the event does not constitute a party, rather only some snacks placed in disposable plates, and nothing more.
The IPS said: "Prisoner owned mobile phones are forbidden. The Israeli Prison Service is waging a war against the attempts to smuggle them into jails with the help of meticulous searches and technological devices."
They additionally noted: "The prisoners involved will receive the fullest possible punishment."
Raanan Ben-Zur contributed to this report.
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