Canada Silent as COVID-19 Spreads Among Prisoners in Israeli Jails
There are an estimated 4,520 Palestinian
prisoners in crowded Israeli jails, including men, women and children
as young as 14. In the face of well-founded concerns that COVID-19 is
spreading in its prisons, a global outcry is rising demanding Israel
release Palestinian prisoners, particularly women and children and
those held without charge under so-called "administrative detention."
But Peter Larson, Chair of the Ottawa Forum on Israel/Palestine (OFIP),
says that so far, Canada, which claims to be a "friend of the
Palestinian people," has not shown any interest.
Larson informs that Palestinian prisoners are held
in over a dozen prisons across Israel and the West Bank. Torture is
often used at the interrogation centres.
For years Palestinian human rights organizations
have used Prisoners' Day (April 17) to shed light on Israel's
repressive policies toward its Palestinian prisoners in the West Bank
and Gaza, Larson points out.
According to the Gaza-based Palestinian Centre for
Human Rights, these include:
- inhuman and cruel detention conditions;
- psychological and physical torture, and solitary confinement;
- administrative detention;
- unjust military orders and decisions; and
- a ban on visits from medical professionals
A recent appeal from Addameer, a West-Bank based
prisoner rights organization, called on the international community "to
join us in an urgent campaign to free all Palestinian prisoners in
order to protect them from COVID-19, particularly in light of the
increased restrictions on their rights by the Israeli Prison Service."
The Addameer appeal noted that as of early March
2020, the Israeli Prison Service (IPS):
- halted all family and lawyers' visits for Palestinian prisoners,
- postponed all trial proceedings in the military courts
- stopped bringing Palestinians undergoing pre-trial detention or
interrogation for their detention extensions. [...]
- barred Palestinian prisoners' legal representatives from direct
communication with their clients
Palestinian artists paint street mural marking Prisoner's Day, April
17, 2020.
Around the world, human rights organizations have
taken up the issue of the spread of COVID-19 among prisoners with
alarm, Larson informs. "I urge all states to release all those detained
without a lawful basis, including those held in violation of human
rights obligations," said Michelle Bachelet, UN Commissioner for Human
Rights.
 Larson points out
that in fact, Israel did announce the release of approximately 400
Israeli prisoners to curb the spread of the coronavirus, but this does
not appear to have included any Palestinians.
Larson also informs that in the U.S., the Friends
of Sabeel North America, a Christian organization, has launched a
petition urging that the USA bring pressure on Israel to release its
Palestinian prisoners. The U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Human Rights
(USCPR) has launched its own campaign toward the same end.
Larson decries the fact that Canada has not showed
any concern. A letter sent to Canada's Mission in Ramallah three weeks
ago asking them to investigate the situation of Palestinian prisoners,
has gone unacknowledged and unanswered, he says.
The letter to the Canadian Mission in Ramallah,
March 31, 2020, reads:
When our Come and See group was in Ramallah last
fall, we met with representatives of Addameer, the Palestinian prisoner
rights organization. We got an excellent, detailed briefing on how
accused Palestinians are "processed" by Israeli authorities. Most are
held for months without charge under "administrative detainment." All
are under duress, with poor medical attention. Many are tortured. Now
it appears that family visits have also been suspended, which makes any
outside surveillance almost impossible.
I have just received an urgent appeal from
Addameer indicating that some of these prisoners (still not charged)
have now become infected with the COVID-19 virus while under
interrogation.
I urge you, as representatives of the Canadian
government, to investigate the veracity of these allegations and to
make representation to the Israeli government to release those not
convicted of any crime.
Thank you in advance
Peter Larson, group leader[1]
Anyone who thinks Canada should take up the
demand to liberate Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails is invited to
send a note to the Prime Minister, Foreign Affairs Minister, Canadian
Ambassador in Tel Aviv, or Canada's Chief representative to the
Palestinian Authority in Ramallah. Copies might also be sent to your
local MP.
Note
1. This
letter was published in Canada Talks Israel Palestine (CTIP), the
weekly newsletter of Peter Larson, Chair of the Ottawa Forum on
Israel/Palestine (OFIP). The newsletter aims to "promote a serious
discussion in Canada about the complicated and emotional
Israel/Palestine issue."
This article was published in
Volume 50 Number 14 - April 25, 2020
Article Link:
Canada Silent as COVID-19 Spreads Among Prisoners in Israeli Jails
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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