ADDAMEER URGENT APPEAL 30/07/2008
Administrative Detention of Salwa Salah and Sara Siureh
Administrative Detention of Salwa Salah and Sara Siureh
Salwa Salah was born on the 10 November 1991. On Thursday June 5, 2008, at around 2 a.m. Salwa Salah (16 and half) was sitting with her family in their home in Bethlehem. The family suddenly heard a loud banging on the door. Salwa’s mother opened the door and was faced with soldiers and the Israeli Security Agency (ISA). A female soldier was present and told Salwa to get dressed. Meanwhile the other soldiers interrogated Salwa’s mother and questioned her about her husband, son and daughter. After finishing interrogating Salwa and her mother, the female soldier handcuffed Salwa’s hands, blindfolded her and forcefully took her to the military jeep.
Sara Siureh was born on the 20, November, 1991. On Thursday June 5, 2008, at around 1:30 a.m. Sara Siureh (16 and a half) was in her house with her husband in their family home in Bethlehem. They were suddenly startled to hear a loud banging on the door. Sara’s husband opened the door and was confronted with soldiers and the ISA. They stormed into the house and a female soldier shouted at Sara to get dressed. Sara was dragged out to the military jeep.
Both girls are relatives (cousins) and one of the girls is still at school. The ISA claim that the girls are involved in militant activities[1]. They were taken to Telmond Prison and then taken to Ofer Prison where they were interrogated for one hour. In the interrogation they were asked about what they were doing and if they had any relations with any political group. The girls did not confess to anything. After one hour the girls were taken back to Telmond where they spent a couple of days. On the night before going to the Military Court the girls were taken to Ramle prison. There was a female police officer escorting them.
Later during a meeting between the girls and Addameer’s lawyer the girls claimed that the female police officer was extremely abusive and was pushing them inside the military jeep. The girls also claim they were searched in a very humiliating way. Both girls are now in Addamoun prison in Israel and are being held with the other Palestinian adult female detainees. Neither of the girls has been allowed any contact with their families since their arrest on the 5th of June 2008. This is the first time that girls under the age of 18 have been put in administrative detention. Their administrative detention orders have been set for four months, with the possibility of an up to 6 month renewal at the end of that period. Administrative detention orders can be renewed indefinitely. An appeal against this decision was lodged and subsequently rejected. The twin principles of proportionality and the duty on a state to take into consideration the child’s well being underline much of the detail found in international law concerning the aims, restrictions and prohibitions on the sentencing of children.
The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice requires that any reaction to the juvenile offenders should ‘always be in proportion to the circumstances of both the offenders and the offence’. Another fundamental principle of sentencing is that the deprivation of liberty, if used at all, should only be used as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time (Art. 37 (b), CRC). Clearly this is not the case for these two young girls. The Court did not abide by these legal standards laid out for all detained minors. This is the first time that both girls have been in prison.
What is Administrative Detention?
The Israeli authorities can hold people in "administrative detention" without charge or trial, for as long as they wish. They have no intention of bringing such detainees to trial, saying they are a “security risk”. They do not inform the detainees or their lawyers how they have decided these detainees are a security risk. Administrative detention orders are issued by the Military Governor for terms of up to six months, and they are frequently renewed shortly before they expire. This process can be repeated over and over again.
What is Administrative Detention?
The Israeli authorities can hold people in "administrative detention" without charge or trial, for as long as they wish. They have no intention of bringing such detainees to trial, saying they are a “security risk”. They do not inform the detainees or their lawyers how they have decided these detainees are a security risk. Administrative detention orders are issued by the Military Governor for terms of up to six months, and they are frequently renewed shortly before they expire. This process can be repeated over and over again.
The mental suffering caused by not knowing the grounds for detention can amount to torture as defined under the UN Convention Against Torture and such lengthy detentions without charge or trial also constitute 'arbitrary detention' which are a violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Article 9(1)) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 9). Currently, there are approximately 750 Palestinians now in administrative detention. Of these there are approximately 10 Palestinians under the age of 18 years old.
[1] Their Uncle was involved in the siege on the Church of the Nativity in 2002. However there was no indication from the Court that this was one of the reasons for their arrest.
[1] Their Uncle was involved in the siege on the Church of the Nativity in 2002. However there was no indication from the Court that this was one of the reasons for their arrest.
ACT NOW TO SUPPORT SALWA AND SARAH:
In particular letters should be addressed to:
Lt. Colonel Sharon Afek
Legal Advisor to the Israeli Army in the West Bank Chief Military Attorney.
P.O. Box 10482
Beit El, West Bank
Tel: 972-2-997-7071
Mobile: 972-50-551-1782
Fax: 972-2-997-7326
Fax: +972 2 997 7326.
Letters can also be addressed to:
Mr. Ehud Olmert
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 Daniel Friedmann
Minister of Justice
Fax: + 972 2 628 7757; + 972 2 628 8618
Mr Menachem Mazuz
Attorney General
Fax: + 972 2 627 4481; + 972 2 628 5438; +972 2 530 3367
Mr Ehud Barak
Minister of Defense
Fax: +972 3 697 6218
PLEASE WRITE TO the International Bar Association (IBA), asking its members and Human Rights Institute to put pressure on the Israeli Bar Association to ensure that all subjects under Israeli jurisdiction be granted the basic principles of rule of law - transparent processes which do not allow for arbitrary justice or governance - to which the IBA's Human Rights Institute (HRI) claims to be dedicated to: "The HRI is now a leading voice in the promotion of the rule of law worldwide."
Please send your letters of concern to the Director of the Human Rights Institute of the International Bar Association, Fiona Paterson, and copy it the Chairs of the Council, Ambassador Emilio Cardenas (Argentina) and Justice Richard Goldstone (South Africa).
Fiona Paterson
Director of Human Rights InstituteInternational Bar Association
10th Floor
1Stephen St
London, W1T 1AT
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 7691 6868
Fax: +44 (0)20 7691 6544
PLEASE ALSO WRITE TO
Send your letters of appeal to:
Personal Representative for Human Rights (CFSP) of the EU Secretary General/
High Representative Javier Solana
Ms. Riina Kionka
175 Rue de la Loi BE 1048 Brussels, Belgium
Fax. : +32 2 281 61 90
Email : riina.kionka@consilium.europa.eu
The Commissioner for External Affairs and European Neighbourhood Policy
HE Ms. Benita Ferrero- Waldner
Email: relex-enpinfo@ec.europa.eu
Israeli Embassies and Consulates in your own country
A directory of Israeli embassies can be found on the website of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. To access it, please go to the following link: http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Sherut/IsraeliAbroad/Continents/
A directory of Israeli embassies can be found on the website of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. To access it, please go to the following link: http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Sherut/IsraeliAbroad/Continents/
Below is a suggested draft of a letter that can be sent:
Dear Colonel Afek:
I am writing with regards to the arrest of Salwa Salah and Sara Siureh on June 5, 2008 from the town of Bethlehem in the West Bank, Occupied Palestinian Territories. Both girls are juveniles who should not be tried or treated as an adult.
Both girls are currently detained in Addamoun Prison inside Israel. Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention (1949) explicitly states that "[t]he occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies." Israel signed the convention in 1949.
Under Article 78 of the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, the administrative detention of persons is allowed ‘for imperative reasons of security’. However, for many years the system of administrative detention has been abused by Israel to punish without charge, rather than as an extraordinary and selectively used preventative measure. In addition, the treatment of administrative detainees, including the location and conditions of detention, contravenes not only international human rights standards but also the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
I would like to voice my opposition to the detention of Salwa Salah and Sara Siureh unless they are charged with a recognizable offence and immediately brought to justice in a fair trial according to international standards. Their continued detention is clearly not in their best interest, nor is it in accordance with the articles outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
In the mean time, I urge you to allow Salwa and Sara to receive regular visits from their family members.
Sincerely,
