New information
ISR 001 / 0605 / OBS 039.2
Sentencing / Arbitrary detention
Israel

July 5, 2005

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), has received new information and requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Israel.

New information:

The Observatory has been informed by Al-Haq, a Palestinian NGO, that on June 28, 2005, during the hearing of Mr. Ziyad Muhammad Shehadeh Hmeidan, one of its fieldworkers, the judge of the military court confirmed the six month administrative detention order that had been issued by the Deputy Military Commander.

According to the information received, the judge stipulated that the time already spent in detention was to be included in the detention period. Accordingly, Mr. Hmeidan's current administrative detention order is scheduled to be completed on November 23, 2005. Mr. Hmeidan will reportedly appeal the decision this week. However, it is highly unlikely that the decision as it now stands will be overturned.

Furthermore, on July 3, 2005, Mr. Hmeidan was transferred to the Ansar III Detention Centre located in the Naqab (Negev) Desert, outside the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

The Observatory recalls that since his arrest in May 23, 2005, no formal charges have been brought against Mr. Hmeidan, nor has he been informed of the reasons for his detention. Furthermore, the Israeli authorities have taken measures to inhibit and deny his access to a lawyer, through an order issued in a hearing on May 30, 2005, preventing his access to counsel for eight days. This order, and his subsequent administrative detention, have been justified by security reasons, which have not been disclosed to Mr. Hmeidan or his legal counsel (See background information). According to the information received, Mr. Hmeidan was able to meet with his lawyer after this period of time.

The Observatory considers that these measures are in flagrant violation of article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Israel is party, which states, in particular, that "anyone who is arrested shall be informed, at the time of arrest, of the reasons of his arrest and shall be promptly informed of any charges against him". They also contravene the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly on December 9, 1998, which guarantees every person's right "to promote and to strive for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels" (article 1). Indeed, the Observatory fears that Mr. Hmeidan is detained due to his monitoring and documenting of violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in the Bethlehem area of the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Background information:

Mr. Ziyad Muhammad Shehadeh Hmeidan was arrested on May 23, 2005, while he was trying to cross through Qalandiya, a checkpoint between Ramallah and Jerusalem. The Israeli soldiers entered his ID number into their computer, pulled him aside and placed handcuffs on him. His whereabouts remained unknown for a few days after he was put under arrest. Since May 27, 2005, Mr. Hmeidan had been kept at the Moscobiyya detention centre, in Jerusalem (also known as the Russian Compound).

Mr. Hmeidan was due to appear before a military court of the Moscobiyya detention centre on May 31, 2005. However, the hearing was brought forward by the Israeli authorities to May 30, 2005. On that date, the judge ordered that Mr. Hmeidan be held for another 18 days for investigation. No charges were filed against him, but Israeli security officials indicated that there was a file on him, and there seemed to be discussions of "secret evidence". On June 2, 2005, a lawyer tried to visit Mr. Hmeidan in Moscobiyya, but he was denied access.

On May, 30, 2005, an "Order Prohibiting Meeting with Counsel" was issued in his case, stating that Mr. Hmeidan was banned from meeting with legal counsel for eight days, starting on May, 30, 2005, and ending on June 5, 2005, on the basis of Military Order 378 of 1970. This gravely violates article 1 of the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which Israel ratified in 1991.

On June 16, 2005, Mr. Hmeidan had a hearing before the Moscobiya Military Court, as his detention period was due to expire that day. During the hearing, the prosecutor referenced that the Israeli authorities have a "secret file" of classified information about him. On this basis the judge then decided to issue a six-month administrative detention order for an indefinitely renewable period of six months, although no formal charges were brought against him, nor has the evidence supporting his detention made available to his lawyer.

Actions requested:

Please write to the authorities in Israel urging them to:

1. guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Ziyad Muhammad Shehadeh Hmeidan, and in particular ensure that Mr. Hmeidan is not subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
2. order the immediate and unconditional release of Mr. Hmeidan, since his detention is arbitrary;
3. comply with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, in particular article 12(2), which provides that "the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually or in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration" and article 1 mentioned above;
4. more generally, ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the country and the Occupied Palestinian Territories in accordance with international human rights standards, including the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
   
   

Addresses:

• Mr. Ariel Sharon, Prime Minister, Office of the Prime Minister, 3 Kaplan Street, PO Box 187, Kiryat Ben-Gurion, Jerusalem 91919, Israel. Fax: + 972 2 651 2631, E-mail: rohm@pmo.gov.il, pm_eng@pmo.gov.il
  
• Mr. Tzipi Livni, Minister of Justice, Fax: + 972 2 628 7757; + 972 2 628 8618
  
• Mr. Yair Lotstein, Legal Advisor to the Israeli Army in the West Bank, Fax: 972 2 997 7326
  
• Mr. Menahem Mazuz, Attorney General, Fax: + 972 2 627 4481; + 972 2 628 5438; + 972 2 530 3367
  
• Ambassador Itzhak Levanon, Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations in Geneva, Av. de la Paix 1-3, CH-1202, Geneve, Switzerland, e-mail: mission-israel@geneva.mfa.gov.il, mission-israel@gva.mfa.gov.il, fax: +4122 716 05 55
  

Please also write to the diplomatic mission or embassy of Israel in your respective country.

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Geneva - Paris, July 5, 2005