8,200 Palestinian Detainees in Israeli Occupation Prisons, Says Farawna

8200 Detainees Still Imprisoned By Israel, Says Farawna

Sunday October 18, 2009 03:45 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News

Palestinian researcher, specialized in detainees’ affairs, former detainee, Abdul-Nasser Farawna, stated Saturday that 8200 Palestinians are still imprisoned by Israel, among them 32 female detainees, 320 children, and 400 imprisoned under administrative detention.

The statements of Farawna came during an event organized on Saturday by the Popular Front For the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

He said that the number of detainees who died in detention is 197, and that hundreds of detainees died after their release due to health complications resulting from torture during interrogation, medical negligence and other illegal Israeli violations.

Farawna further stated that 323 detainees were kidnapped by the army before the Oslo peace agreement and before the Palestinian Authority was established in 1994.

111 of them were imprisoned since more than 20 years, 13 were imprisoned since more than 25 years, and 3 were imprisoned since more than 30.

The researcher stated that some of the Israeli violations are considered war crimes and crimes against humanity as several detainees are suffering from serious illnesses, such as cancer, kidney failure, heart diseases and other serious illnesses and are not receiving the needed medical attention.

Several detainees are paralyzed and need special care and rehabilitation, especially those who were shot during the course of their arrest.

There are dozens of detainees who are permanently staying at the Al-Ramla Prison Hospital which lacks the basic equipment and does not have specialized physicians.
Hundreds of detainees are in solitary confinement since several months and in some cases since several years and are deprived from their visitation rights.

Nobel prize winner calls for release of Palestinian prisoners

Friday October 16, 2009 23:48 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News

The Israeli scientist who recently had the honor of being the first woman to win a Nobel Prize for Chemistry said that she believes Israel should release the eleven thousand Palestinians it is currently holding in prison camps.

Professor Ada Yonath told Israeli reporters that holding these Palestinians in prison for months and years without charges builds resentment among their friends and relatives.

Yonath said that the imprisonment of Palestinians without charge builds resentment that can lead to terrorist acts.

She said that the prisoner release should not be contingent on the release of the one Israeli being held by Palestinian resistance fighters, but should be done simply because it is unjust for Israel to continue to hold these prisoners.

Most of the Palestinians imprisoned by the Israeli government are kept in open-air prison camps in the Negev desert, where multiple human rights and aid agencies have documented abuse and ill-treatement.

Many Palestinian prisoners have also provided evidence of torture at the hands of Israeli prison guards.