Tag: Arrests - Page 37 - International Solidarity Movement

Two Palestinians arrested in Bruqin

12th January 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Bruqin, Occupied Palestine

January 13th 2014:

Today, 13^th January 2014, the two men from Bruqin have been released from prison with a 2000 NIS bail each. Both men are under house arrest until the 24^th January and must report to Ariel police station, inside the illegal settlement of Ariel, every 48 hours.

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On Thursday, 9^th January 2014, two farmers from Bruqin, in Salfit district, were arrested by Israeli soldiers. 19-year-old Mohammad Baker and 29-year-old Jaad Baker, accompanied by his 4-year-old son and their 40 cows, entered their land to the west of Bruqin. The land between the village and the industrial area of the illegal settlement of Ariel belongs to villagers of Bruqin and the farmers use it for their sheep and cows.

At 11:30am Israeli forces entered the land, which is monitored by a surveillance camera, and arrested the two villagers. They were taken in handcuffs to a jeep nearby, leaving the 4-year-old boy alone in the field with the cattle. The soldiers refused to call any family members so that the boy could be brought home to the village. The Israeli forces held the farmers until 2:00pm on the road by the jeep. The men were arrested for entering a closing military zone. The soldiers searched them various times and kept them detained in handcuffs before transferring them to a prison in the illegal settlement of Ariel.

Later in the afternoon another family member heard from witnesses of the arrest and went to the field to take the boy home and to gather the cows. The boy is still traumatized.

Furthermore five of the forty cows remain missing. The villagers believe that settlers from the illegal settlement of Bruchin have stolen the cattle. Israeli police have refused to investigate, claiming that they have other issues to deal with.

On Saturday morning a police officer called the family to inform them that the prisoners are being held in Ariel and that tomorrow after the Jewish holiday they will be transferred to Haderim prison in Israel. A court hearing is due to be held on Monday, 13^th January in the military court in Salem. A lawyer is dealing with the case.

Addameer Releases Latest Report on the Continued Targeting of Palestinian Human Rights Activists by Israeli Forces

13th January 2014 | Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association | Ramallah, Occupied Palestine

Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association are pleased to announce the publication of its latest report ‘Courageous Voices, Fragile Freedoms’.

The report examines Israel’s increasing use of arrest and detention of Palestinian human rights activists taking part in protests and other peaceful acts of resistance against the illegal Annexation Wall and settlements in the West Bank.

Although the popular resistance that arose in response to the continuing construction of the Annexation Wall has been facing acts of repression and violence from Israeli forces since regular demonstrations and international advocacy initiatives gained momentum in 2005, the report shows that beginning in 2009 there was a shift in tactics by the Israeli forces that should be viewed in the context of increasing recognition of the legitimacy of the actions by the Palestinian human rights activists.

Now in 2013, over ten years since the original construction of the Annexation Wall began, Addameer’s findings in this report suggest that it is precisely because of this international recognition of, and support for, the actions of the Palestinian activists that Israel has responded with the increasing use of military regulations, which allows it to continue its campaign of repression behind the veneer of legal authorization.

This report is part of Addameer’s ongoing efforts to support Palestinian human rights defenders, whose imprisonment is a deliberate violation of their fundamental freedoms and special protections provided under international law.

An electronic version of the report is available at: http://www.addameer.org/files/Wall%20Report%20-%20Final.pdf

About Addameer

Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association (Addameer) is a Palestinian non-governmental human rights civil institution that focuses on political and civil rights issues in the occupied Palestinian territory, especially those of prisoners. Established in Jerusalem in 1992 by a group of activists and human rights advocates, Addameer offers support to Palestinian prisoners and detainees, advocates for the rights of political prisoners, and works to end torture and arbitrary detention and to guarantee fair trials through monitoring, legal procedures and advocacy campaigns. For more information on Addameer’s work please visit www.addameer.org.

CONTACT

To find out more about the report please contact:

Gavan Kelly, Advocacy Unit Coordinator – gavan@addameer.ps

UPDATED: Palestinian activist arrested in night raid in Nablus

07th January 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Nablus, Occupied Palestine

Updated 10th January:

Sireen Khudairi was released at 17:15 on the 8^th of January.

Sireen was brought inside Salem Court at 10:30am after being made to stand outside for an hour with her hands and feet shackled and without a jacket.

Once brought into the courtroom Sireen endured relentless questioning until 17:00. During this time her feet remained shackled.

Sireen was brought to Salem at 08:00am after being kept at Huwwara military camp until 12pm on the day of her arrest. At Huwwara military camp she was made to stand outside in the freezing cold with no jacket, blindfolded, shackled (hands and feet) and with no shoes for several hours. She was then taken to another camp, the location she was uncertain of, but it was 15 minutes from Huwwara. Before being returned to Huwwara and then transferred to Hasharon prison overnight.

Sireen also stated that outside her home when she was kidnapped, she was told by Israeli forces that they would not handcuff her if she came quietly. This was in the presence of a British citizen. As soon as she was outside and out of sight of her international friend she was handcuffed, shackled and blindfolded.

All information above is from an activist working with the Solidarity Movement for Free Palestine (SFP).

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Updated 8th January:

Sireen was released today from Salem Court. More details to follow.

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Updated 7th January:

Sireen is still being held by Israeli forces, she will be taken to Salem Court near Jenin tomorrow. More updates to follow.

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At 2:30am on Tuesday morning, Israeli soldiers and secret service agents entered a house in the city of Nablus and arrested Sireen Khudairi, a 24-year-old schoolteacher and activist. No arrest warrant was given, although Sireen was threatened with physical violence if she did not accompany the soldiers.

This is the second time in a year that Sireen has been arrested without a warrant. On May 14th 2013 she was arrested and held for two months on the charge of having written a Facebook page that “compromised the security of the state of Israel”. Her detention included 22 days of solitary confinement and no access to a lawyer or her family. She was eventually released from prison but placed under house arrest, having paid bail of NIS 7000 and on the condition that she refrain from using the internet.

On 16^th September, the Israeli military court found Sireen not guilty but ordered her to refrain from activism for five years.

Sireen’s family home has been raided various times since then, as it appears that she is wanted to testify against other activists. This is yet another event in the ongoing campaign of intimidation against non-violent Palestinian activists, and the criminalization of protest by the Israeli state.

For more information on Sireen’s case and how to act, please visit:

http://freesireen.wordpress.com/

Two international activists to be deported after their arrest is declared illegal

09th January 2014 | International Solidarity Movement | Occupied Palestine

Yesterday, Wednesday 8^th January, at approximately 11am in Khalil (Hebron), Vincent Mainville and Fabio Theodule (Swiss and Italian citizens respectively), were arrested by Israeli border police officers.

The two international activists were first detained while trying to stop Israeli forces firing live ammunition and tear gas canisters towards a group of Palestinian youth and children throwing stones towards the soldiers.

Israeli forces accused the two activists of trying to assault a border police officer and obstruction of military action. Both activists are committed to non-violent solidarity work.

Vincent and Fabio were handcuffed and transferred to Jaabara police station, where they were left in the handcuffs for over three hours before finally being allowed to contact legal representation.

The two activists attended Hasharon court this morning in Jerusalem; they were escorted by Israeli border police and were handcuffed throughout the night. When they arrived in the courthouse they were escorted to several different rooms before being led outside the court without seeing their lawyer. Vincent and Fabio were then taken to the immigration center where deportation procedures were begun without a court hearing.

Although the judge later ruled that the activists had been illegally arrested, it was too late to prevent their transfer to immigration and therefore prevent their deportation.

The activists are now being held by Israeli forces and it is not known how long they will be held for before they are deported from the country.

Israeli forces arrest three youth in Hebron

06th January 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Khalil Team | Hebron, Occupied Palestine

The four youth detained by the checkpoint (photo by ISM).

This morning in Khalil (Hebon), a large group of Israeli border police and soldiers gathered outside checkpoint 29. Israeli forces fired several tear gas grenades towards a school, detained four Palestinian youth and arrested three of them, taking them to Kiryat Arba police station.

At approximately 10:30am, at least 30 Israeli border police and soldiers stood outside checkpoint 29 and fired one tear gas grenade. The grenade was aimed towards a school; there were no children in the streets and no youth throwing stones. Israeli forces entered through the checkpoint and proceeded towards the school. A further tear gas grenade was fired seemingly without purpose and away from any people. A group of young Palestinians, all under the age of 10, were forced to hide in a local shop due to fear at the aggressive border police. Israeli forces fired a final tear gas grenade towards the school before heading back towards checkpoint 29.

Israeli border police detained four Palestinian youth, all of which were held for approximately 30 minutes and searched by Israeli forces. During this time, one of the international activists present at the checkpoint was kicked by a border police officer and then pushed to the ground. Israeli border police then confiscated the passports of three international activists, including two members of Christian Peacemakers Team. The border police refused to explain why the passports were taken or answer any questions about the detained youth. After approximately 20 minutes, an Israeli border police officer stated that he would return the passports if the activists left the area, which they agreed to, moving away from the checkpoint though still able to monitor the actions of the Israeli forces.

One of the detained youth was released, before leaving the area he stated to an international activist that one border police officer kicked and slapped him during his detention. The remaining youth were transferred to Kiryat Arba police station and their situation is now unknown.

Children and youth are regularly harassed at checkpoint 29, often whilst on their way to school in the morning. For example, this morning several children, some who were under the age of 12, threw stones at the checkpoint and Israeli forces responded by firing a tear gas grenade.