Conference holds Israel accountable for illegal treatment of prisoners

AMMAN — Arab and international law and human rights   advocates and activists on Wednesday gathered in Amman to address the suffering of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, and ways to stop these practices in accordance with international and human rights laws.

A conference dubbed “Protection of Prisoners and Detainees: An International Responsibility and Obligation” is being held in Jordan on Wednesday and Thursday to highlight detention circumstances in Israeli prisons from legal, social and political aspects, according to organisers.

Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh said in his remarks at the conference that the issue of Palestinian and Arab prisoners in Israel and the entire Palestinian issue cannot be separated, noting that the prisoners’ issue necessitates speeding up efforts to reach a just peace, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Hassan Ori, legal adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, delivered a speech on behalf of Abbas in which he stressed the need to stop Israeli crimes that can be seen through the practices on prisoners, expressing his appreciation for the Kingdom’s stances in supporting the Palestinian cause.

Time has come to stop Israel and hold it accountable for the organised terrorism against the Palestinian people, Ori said, underlining the importance of obliging Israel to abide by relevant international laws and conventions and applying them on more than 6,000 Palestinian and Arab prisoners, Petra added.

Palestinian Minister of Prisoners Affairs Issa Qaraqe said that the occupation force does not differentiate between men, women, children and sick people, which shows that Israel blatantly challenges human rights, and international and humanitarian laws.

The commission, in a statement distributed to attendees, said estimations point out that there have been around 900,000 detentions by occupation forces against Palestinians since 1967.

There are currently around 6,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israel, 84.8 per cent of whom are from the West Bank, 9.5 per cent from Jerusalem alone, while Gazans constitute 5.7 per cent of detainees. 

Among the 6,000, there are some 410 administrative detainees who were not charged for anything and did not sit for trials, the statement added.

Jihan Sultan, head of the Prisoners Department at the Arab League, delivered a speech on behalf of Arab League Secretary General Nabil El Arabi and noted that the league had established an Arab fund to empower prisoners, with Iraq donating $2 million.

“We recommend sending international committees to inspect Israeli prisons, shedding light on Israel’s laws to reveal their falsehood, releasing administrative detainees immediately and supporting freed prisoners and their families,” she told attendees.

William A. Schabas, a professor of International Law at Middlesex University in London, noted that both Israel and Palestine are parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

“Unlike Palestine, which accepts the full amplifications and ratifications of ICCPR, Israel goes to the Human Rights Committee, which is charged with implementing ICCPR, and insists the covenant doesn’t apply outside its territories,” Schabas explained.

Christina Papadopoulou, senior adviser for the Middle East and North Africa region at the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims, presented a paper in which the Amman-based expert referred to the Istanbul Protocol on Medico-Legal Reports which contains internationally recognised standards on how to document symptoms of torture to be used as evidence in the court.

“The Knesset in June endorsed a law exempting detectives from documenting investigations, providing them with the chance to practise all types of torture against prisoners,” Lawyer Noor Imam said, noting that there are 24 Jordanians imprisoned in Israel.