Palestine: Freed political prisoner urges solidarity with hunger strikers in jail

July 31, 2015


Muhammad Allan and Uday Isteiti. Picture: Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network.

Khader Adnan, Palestinian political prisoner and former long-term hunger striker, won his release from administrative detention this year. In a video issued on July 19, he called for action to support fellow hunger strikers Muhammad Allan and Uday Isteiti.

Like Adnan, Allan and Isteiti are imprisoned under administrative detention, without charge or trial, on the basis of Israeli military orders and secret evidence. Both have been on hunger strike for 32 days.

Allan, a practicing lawyer from Nablus, is being held in isolation in Ayala prison. He has been detained since November 6. The renewal of his administrative detention without charge or trial prompted his hunger strike.

Isteiti, from Jenin refugee camp, is held in isolation in Eshel prison, where he was moved three days ago from the Negev prison. He has been detained since November 17. Like Allan, the renewal of his detention prompted his hunger strike.

These hunger strikes come as dozens of Palestinian administrative detainees have announced a boycott of the Israeli military courts that essentially function as a rubber-stamp, signing off on administrative detention orders on the basis of secret evidence. Administrative detention violates the right to a fair trial as recognised in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Take action to demand freedom for Allan and Isteiti and the end of administrative detention:

• Send a letter or petition to Israeli officials demanding the release of Allan and Isteiti and the end of administrative detention. Make sure the international voice is heard demanding their freedom.

• Protest at an Israeli consulate or embassy. Take posters and flyers about administrative detention and Palestinian hunger strikers. Hold a community event or discussion, or include these cases in your next event about Palestine and social justice.

• Support BDS (boycott, divest and sanctions). Hold Israel accountable for its violations of international law. Don’t buy Israeli goods, and campaign to end investments in corporations that profit from the occupation. G4S, a global security corporation, is heavily involved in providing services to Israeli prisons that jail Palestinian political prisoners — there is a global call to boycott it.

[Abridged from Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network. Visit this link to see Adnan's video and to sign a letter in support of Allan and Isteiti.]

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