Don't forget the Jericho Six, Time to release these political prisoners!

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By Mary Rizzo • Jul 22nd, 2009 at 22:36 • Category: Action Alert, Biography, Counter-terrorism, No thanks!, Israel, Newswire, Palestine, Resistance, Zionism

Again and again, we are reminded that there is a strong network in force. What it does is uses and abuses "law" in order to falsely accuse people, lock them up, subject them to "kangaroo courts" without respect for any legal principles, and then hope the world will forget about them. They do it to do a favour to Israel, to look like they are "tough on terror", to simply resolve a stick situation by ending it quickly, lest the truth ever get out. This is the story of four men accused of the murder an Israeli minister, then tried by the Palestinian Authority, locked up in Jericho… only to be subjected to a kidnapping (along with two other political prisoners) in a raid that caused the death of three Palestinian prisoners, by Israeli armed forces and, how odd, they are being "supervised" by US and British military. We know that their prison conditions are inhumane and they are denied many rights such as that of seeing their families and filing appeals.

It was expected that all of this would be forgotten, and that the involvement of the guilty parties (the Palestinian Authority, the Israeli commandos and their government and the logistic aid of the US and Great Britain) would be sooner or later pushed under the rug. We haven't forgotten, we will not forget, and we urge readers to circulate this information, to keep the candle burning for these men and for the others whose liberty has been so grossly violated. NEVER FORGET! Mary Rizzo

From Addameer:

On 25 April, 2002, four Palestinians were tried in a kangaroo-court by the Palestinian Authority and sentenced to between 1 to 18 years in prison. The four were accused of involvement in the assassination of the Israeli Tourism Minister, Rehavam Ze'evi, on October 17, 2001. The four were tried in an impromptu Palestinian military court that violated all established principles of international law guaranteeing a fair trial with proper legal representation.

Violations of their detention include:

• The four defendants were tried in front of a military court despite the fact they are civilians. This is in direct violation of Palestinian law.
  
• The trial was presided over by Brigadier-General Ribhi Arafat who has no legal qualifications and no authority to act as a judge.
  
• The detainees were not provided with proper legal defence, rather, a soldier with no legal training was appointed to act in their defence.
  
• The trial took only 2 hours and a written charge sheet was not presented to the defendants or before the court.
  
• The four were found guilty despite the fact there was no written evidence or confessions from them presented to the court. The only material presented before the court were notes written by unidentified people from discussions held with the four defendants while they were imprisoned in Ramallah before the siege. There were no signatures or written verification of the veracity of these notes from the four defendants. These notes were presented as affidavits yet they were not prepared during formal interrogation or by any authorized personnel.
  
• The trial took place in the Presidential Compound in Ramallah while it was surrounded by Israeli tanks and heavily armed soldiers. It was held behind closed doors and was not open to the public.
  
• The four detainees have no right to appeal their sentences.

Following sentencing the four political prisoners were transferred to a Jericho Prison under the control of US and British supervisors. In addition to the four, two other Palestinian detainees, Ahmed Sa'adat and Fuad Shubeiki, were also transferred to Jericho Prison. The latter have not faced trial or been found guilty of any offense yet they remain incarcerated in Jericho.

The trial of the four and imprisonment of the six are a severe violation of international and Palestinian law. They are being kept in draconian conditions under the supervision of the US and Britain. According to press reports, the person in charge of this "supervision" is the former head of the notorious Maze Detention Center in Northern Ireland.

Is this what is meant by "reform" of the Palestinian Authority, "democracy" or "respect for the rule of law"? Apparently this is the case for the US, British, Israeli and Palestinian governments.

SOURCE: http://www.addameer.org/addameer/campaigns/jericho/index.html

also: http://sumoud.tao.ca/?q=node/view/553 (EXCELLENT SITE)

Sumoud Statement on the Kidnapping of the Jericho Six

Sumoud Political Prisoners Group strongly condemns the Israeli attack and 9-hour siege on the Jericho prison that took place yesterday. Three Palestinians were killed and tens injured during the siege. Ahmad Sa’adat, Ahed Abu Ghoulmi and four other prisoners were kidnapped during the siege by Israeli forces. Sumoud notes the following:

The kidnapped prisoners are legitimate, well-respected political leaders of the Palestinian people who have consistently fought to defend their people against Israeli attacks and occupation. Ahmad Sa’adat was elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council at the head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) ticket.

During the siege, Israeli military and political leaders openly announced their intention to commit war crimes. One Israeli colonel involved in the operation told the newspaper Ha’aretz "The objective is to arrest them, but there are no negotiations. Either they come out or they will be killed." The willingess to simply surround a Palestinian prison and assassinate those inside is an indication of the barbaric and racist nature of the Israeli state. It is remarkable that statements such as these - an open call to commit war crimes - can pass without comment within the Canadian media. It is one further confirmation of the cheapness with which Palestinian life is viewed by those in the West.

The Palestinian Authority bears complicity in the kidnapping of the six prisoners and the killing of the three Palestinians during the arrest. Sa'adat was never tried or accused before a court of law. His arrest was illegal and his release had been demanded by the Palestinian High Court, Amnesty International and other human rights organizations. The other prisoners had been tried in a kangaroo court that did not meet the minimum standards of due process. Despite this travesty, the PA continued to submit to British, American and Israeli pressure and refused to release the prisoners.

We note that the Israeli raid on the Jericho prison took place with the full consent of British and American forces. The fact that “international monitors” simply disappeared from the prison prior to the raid is a striking indication of this fact. Once again, the Palestinian people are reminded that they should have no faith in the false “neutrality” of the international community.

Israel is renowned for its use of violent torture against Palestinian political prisoners. There is no doubt that those kidnapped from Jericho will face this type of torture and we hold the British and US governments responsible for their conditions in detention.

Sumoud demands the immediate release of those kidnapped from Jericho along with the 8000 political prisoners currently held by Israel.

For more information contact Sumoud
Email: sumoud@tao.ca
or see http://sumoud.tao.ca

Spokespersons:
Rafeef Ziadah 416-616-7420
Hazem Jamjoum 416-858-8004

Tagged as: Ahmad Sa'adat, Israel, Jericho Six, Palestine, Palestinian political prisoners

Mary Rizzo is an art restorer, translator and writer living in Italy. Editor and co-founder of Palestine Think Tank, co-founder of Tlaxcala translations collective. Her personal blog is Peacepalestine.
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