Khader Adnan is the Bobby Sands of Palestine. Unlawfully detained, 60 days and counting on a hunger strike while shackled to his hospital bed, and nearing death.
Join Amnesty International and Al Awda -- and the Green Party --in demanding that Khader Adnan be set free.
If this doesn't move you to do something, even if it's just a vigil, I don't know what will.
In NYC:
Monday, Feb. 20, 2012 4:30 pm - 7:30 pm 800 2nd Avenue (Israel Consulate) between 42nd and 43rd St. NYC
Please organize an event on behalf of Khader Adnan and all others held without charges throughout the world -- including the thousands held in the U.S.
- Mitchel Cohen Brooklyn Greens/Green Party
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From CeaseFire
http://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/khader-adnan-proud-name-shames-all/
Editorial | Khader Adnan: His dignity. Our shame.
This week, Khader Adnan entered his third month of a hunger strike against his unlawful detention and mistreatment at the hands of the Israeli military.The deafening silence by world leaders and media at his plight shames us all, says Hicham Yezza.
By <http://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/author/hicham/>Hicham Yezza
Somewhere in the Middle East, a 33-year old man is today entering the 60th day of a hunger strike. He is currently lying – as he has done for weeks – with one hand, and one leg, shackled to his hospital bed. By the time you read this, he could be dead.
Of course, had he been an Iranian opposition journalist, or a Cuban dissident, or a detained Israeli soldier, his name would be plastered across your evening news, his face, and that of his pregnant wife and two young children, ubiquitous on front pages and news websites. Cameron, Sarkosy, Obama, Ashton, Clinton and other human rights specialists would be queueing up hourly for their turn to grandstand and hyperventilate about his cruel treatment, about the need to "do something" to help stop an unspeakable crime from happening.
Unfortunately for the young man, he is Palestinian and, unless you happen to be an activist, chances are his face, and his name, Khader Adnan, will be news to you.
Adnan, a baker, economics student, and political activist in the Islamic Jihad movement, was arrested at his home by masked Israeli soldiers on Dec 17th 2011. He has been detained without charge ever since. This in itself is hardly novel; tens of thousands of Palestinians are routinely subjected to "administrative detention", a practice that contravenes most basic tenants of the right to fair and due process. The difference, this time, is that Adnan decided to say "enough", and to pay whatever it takes to prove he means it.
Indeed, "whatever it takes" is increasingly likely to mean Adnan will pay for his stance with his life. A day after his arrest, he began a hunger strike in protest at his detention and ill-treatment. Almost a month later, on January 8, 2012, he was given a four-month administrative detention order, which he rejected and appealed immediately.
A few days ago, on February 12th, an Israeli military court rejected his appeal (lodged from his hospital bed). Adnan's appeal statement provides chilling details of the inhumane and degrading treatment he had sustained at the hands of the IDF, including being repeatedly interrogated, whilst shackled to a chair, and subjected to threats to himself and his family.
In a letter released by his lawyer, he wrote:
"I have been humiliated, beaten, and harassed by interrogators for no reason, and thus I swore to God I would fight the policy of administrative detention to which I and hundreds of my fellow prisoners fell prey."
Adnan insists he will maintain his hunger strike unless released or charged. The court insists on doing neither, ordering him to remain detained, without charge, until May 8th. A death sentence in all but name. The military judge in charge of the appeal, blissfully unburdened with any moral qualms about wilfully sending a man to his death, blamed Khader for his "choice" to continue his hunger strike.
Throughout this sorry but humbling tale of courage in the face of cruelty, the silence of the world community has been deafening. Baroness Ashton, the EU’s foreign affairs big honcho, <http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/david/eus-shameful-silence-khader-adnan>has not found it appropriate to utter a single word on the matter, despite having plenty of time in the past for IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, who was neither dying nor a civilian prisoner.*
Similarly, until a few days ago, the international media, including the BBC, CNN and Al-Jazeera, had little time for Adnan, the longest Palestinian hunger striker to date. There have now been <http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/02/20122148513674313.html>some breaches into this wall of indifference, but only as a result of immense pressure from activists and concerned citizens from around the world, incensed at their leaders’ shameful averting of the eyes away from this unfolding tragedy.
Thankfully, many of those who know what’s at a stake have refused to keep quiet. Tommy McKearney, a former member of the IRA – and who had spent 53 days on hunger strike in 1980 – sent a video message of solidarity with Adnan. Over the past few days, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners have launched their own hunger strikes to show their support and appreciation for Adnan’s bravery and determination.
Amnesty and other NGOs have issued repeated, and increasingly desperate appeals for somebody to act before the irreparable happens. Israeli human rights group Addameer announced in a statement earlier this week that it "holds the international community responsible for not taking action to save Khader’s life". It also demanded "that the European Union, the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross intervene with Israel immediately before it is too late."
Of course, Adnan was from the start fully aware the Israelis would be happy to leave him to die, defiantly proclaiming he was "dying to live". What he might not have been expecting, however, was that the rest of the world would choose to look the other way. It is not too late for us to save his life, and our dignity.
For more information on Khader Adnan visit <http://samidoun.ca/>http://samidoun.ca/ or join the <https://www.facebook.com/pages/Free-Khader-Adnan/236953309725144?sk=info>Facebook group.
[*Update 17/02: Ashton's office <http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/david/few-weasel-words-eu-adnan-nears-death>has released a statement calling for "Israel to do all it can". In other words, washing its hands of the matter].
------------------------------------------------------------ Hicham Yezza is editor-in-chief of Ceasefire.
************************************ http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/press-releases/amnesty-international-urges-israel-to-release-palestinian-on-hunger-strike-or-charge-and-try-him-pro
Press Release February 6, 2012
Amnesty International Urges Israel to Release Palestinian on Hunger Strike, Or Charge and Try Him Promptly
Administrative Detention Violations Right to Fair Trial, Says Organization
Contact: Suzanne Trimel, 212-633-4150, strimel at aiusa.org
(New York) – Amid fears a Palestinian detainee could die after more than 50 days on a hunger strike, Amnesty International today called on the Israeli authorities to release the man or charge him with a recognizable criminal offense and promptly try him.
Khader Adnan, 33, has reportedly lost more than 44 pounds since he began his hunger strike, and his health has reached a critical stage. On January 29, he was visited by doctors from Physicians for Human Rights – Israel, who warned that his life is at risk. He has since been denied further examination by independent doctors.
Adnan was arrested December 7 at his home in the occupied West Bank, after Israeli security forces burst into his home in the early hours of the morning.
Mr Adnan, a baker, is allegedly affiliated with the Islamic Jihad movement.
On Wednesday, a military court reviewed Adnan’s case but the judge has yet to announce whether he should be released, his detention shortened or the order to detain him confirmed.
“For years Israel has been using administrative detention to lock up Palestinian activists without charge or trial," said Ann Harrison, Amnesty International’s deputy director for the Middle East.
“Military commanders can renew the detention orders repeatedly, so in effect detainees can be held indefinitely. The process violates their right to a fair trial, which is guaranteed by international law that Israel is obliged to uphold.”
Adnan, who is also a post-graduate student, has been on hunger strike since December 18 in protest against his ill-treatment, the conditions of his detention, and the policy of administrative detention.
The Israeli military commander in the West Bank imposed a four-month administrative detention order on him last month.
The baker has been hospitalized since December 30 as his health deteriorated. He has not been allowed any family visits and the Israeli authorities have since moved him to various different hospitals around the country.
He was transferred to Ziv hospital in northern Israel on Sunday. His lawyers believe the move is intended to add further pressure on him since the move will make it harder for his lawyers and family to visit him.
“The Israeli authorities must release Khader Adnan and other Palestinians held in administrative detention, unless they are promptly charged with internationally recognizable criminal offences and tried in accordance with international fair trial standards,” Harrison said.
His hunger strike has prompted demonstrations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and last week other Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails announced a hunger strike in solidarity.
Administrative detention, a procedure under which detainees considered a threat to Israeli security are held without charge or trial for periods of up to six months, can be renewed indefinitely.
No criminal charges are filed against administrative detainees and there is no intention of bringing them to trial.
Detainees are held on the basis of “secret evidence,” which the Israeli military authorities claim cannot be revealed for security reasons.
The “secret evidence” is not made available to detainees or their lawyers, and detainees cannot challenge their detention.
According to Israel’s prison service some 307 Palestinians were being held in administrative detention as of last December 31 but this number may have since increased.
Twenty-one members of the Palestinian Legislative Council are currently being held in administrative detention.
------------------------------------------------- Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with more than 2.8 million supporters, activists and volunteers in more than 150 countries campaigning for human rights worldwide. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied.
Ring the bells that still can ring, Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack, a crack in everything, That's how the light gets in. ~ Leonard Cohen