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 human rights NGO, about the second renewal of the administrative detention order of Mr. Ziyad Muhammad Shehadeh Hmeidan, one of its fieldworkers.

According to the information received, on March 12, 2006, Mr. Ziyad Hmeidan, who has been detained since May 23, 2005, without any formal charges being brought against him (See background information), was informed that his administrative detention will be extended for a further four-month period. Under a previously extended administrative detention order, Mr. Ziyad Hmeidan was scheduled to be released on March 21, 2006. This extension will be reviewed by a military court on March 19, 2006.

The Observatory recalls that the Israeli authorities have justified Mr. Ziyad Hmeidan’s detention on the basis of secret evidence that has not been disclosed to either Mr. Hmeidan or his lawyer, effectively rendering it unchallengeable in judicial proceedings and denying his right to a fair trial. Although a military judge reviewed the evidence against Mr. Hmeidan on three occasions, each time it simply amounted to an unquestioning endorsement of the administrative detention order. On January 3, 2006, during the appeal hearing against the first extension of Mr. Hmeidan’s administrative detention order, the Military Court openly acknowledged that the public evidence against him was insufficient to justify his ongoing administrative detention, or to charge him with an offence. Nonetheless, the judge held that the secret and undisclosed evidence showed that he posed a “real threat” to Israeli security, and therefore the administrative detention was justified. It must be noted that although Mr. Hmeidan was subjected to prolonged interrogation at the Moscobiyya detention facility in Jerusalem upon his initial detention in May 2005, these interrogations revealed no incriminating evidence against him.

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.

The Observatory considers the detention of Mr. Ziyad Muhammad Shehadeh Hmeidan as arbitrary and recalls that it submitted his case to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in November 2005.

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 order, and his subsequent administrative detention, were justified by security reasons, which have not been disclosed neither to Mr. Hmeidan nor to his legal counsel. According to the information received, Mr. Hmeidan was able to meet with his lawyer after this period of time.

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.

On June 28, 2005, during the hearing of Mr. Hmeidan, the judge of the military court confirmed the six month administrative detention order that had been issued by the Deputy Military Commander. The judge stipulated that the time already spent in detention was to be included in the detention period.

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.

While his administrative detention was due to be completed on November 23, 2005, on November 14, 2005, the Israeli authorities informed him that they were renewing his administrative detention order for another six months.

Actions requested:

Please write to the authorities in Israel urging them to:

i. 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;

ii. order the immediate and unconditional release of Mr. Hmeidan, since his detention is arbitrary;

iii. 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 above-mentioned article 1;

iv. more generally, ensure in all circumstances the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the country and the Occupied Palestinian Territories in accordance with international human rights instruments ratified by Israel, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

Addresses:

Mr. Ehud Olmert, Acting 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, Avenue de la Paix 1-3, CH-1202, Geneva, Switzerland, E-mail: mission-israel@geneva.mfa.gov.il, Fax: +41 22 716 05 55

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

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Geneva - Paris, March 15, 2006