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PUBLICAI Index: MDE 15/112/2002
UA 213/02Fear of torture/legal concern/ 15 July 2002
possible prisoner of conscience
ISRAEL/
OCCUPIED Yusef Mahmud Tawriq (m) aged 32
TERRITORIES
Yusef Mahmud Tawriq, a fieldworker in the Nablus area for the Palestinian human rights organization al-Haq, was arrested following a visit to the organization’s offices in Ramallah on 14 July. His current whereabouts are unknown and he may be at risk of torture or ill-treatment.
According to one of Yusef Mahmud Tawriq’s relatives, who was with him when he was arrested, Yusef was returning home to Nablus when the taxi in which he was travelling was stopped at the Duma checkpoint. The checkpoint is located near the village of Duma between Ramallah and Nablus. The soldiers at the checkpoint gathered the ID cards of all of the passengers in the taxi for inspection. After several minutes they demanded that Yusef Mahmud Tawriq step outside the car. When he did so, his hands were tied and he was placed in a military jeep. The taxi was then allowed to continue on its journey.
If Yusef Mahmud Tawriq has been detained because of his work as a human rights activist, Amnesty International would consider him a prisoner of conscience.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Over 5000 Palestinians are currently being held in detention by Israel. Almost 1000 of them are being held under administrative detention orders that allow the authorities to hold them for up to six months without charge or trial. Conditions in the Israeli detention centres in the West Bank fall far below acceptable international prison standards, and reports of beatings and abuse of prisoners by Israeli soldiers are common.
Under Israeli military law detainees do not need to be informed of the
reason for their detention, and under a new military order they can be held without being given access to any judicial authority for 18 days.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in English, Hebrew or your own language:
- urging the Israeli authorities to release Yusef Mahmud Tawriq immediately and unconditionally, as he appears to be a prisoner of conscience;
- expressing concern at reports that other Palestinian detainees have been tortured or ill-treated during interrogation;
- asking that Yusef Mahmud Tawriq be treated humanely according to international human rights treaties, such as the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which Israel has ratified prohibiting torture or other ill-treatment;
- expressing concern that Yusef Mahmud Tawriq is being held incommunicado, and reminding the Israeli authorities that while he is in custody, Yusef Mahmud Tawriq has the right of access to his lawyer and his family.
APPEALS TO:
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
Office of the Prime Minister
3 Kaplan Street, PO Box 187
Kiryat Ben-Gurion
Jerusalem 91919, Israel
Telegrams: Prime Minister, Jerusalem, Israel
Fax: + 972 2 670 5475
E-mail:pm_heb@pmo.gov.il
Salutation:Dear Prime Minister
Meir Shetrit
Minister of Justice
Ministry of Justice
29 Salah al-Din Street
Jerusalem 91010, Israel
Telegrams: Justice Minister, Jerusalem, Israel
Fax:+ 972 2 628 8618
E-mail:sar@justice.gov.il
Salutation:Dear Minister of Justice
Uzi Landau
Minister of Public Security
Ministry of Public Security (Police)
Kiryat Hamemshala
PO Box 18182
Jerusalem 91181, Israel
Telegrams: Public Security Minister, Jerusalem, Israel
Fax: + 972 2 584 7872
Salutation:Dear Minister of Public Security
Elyakim Rubinstein
Attorney-General
Ministry of Justice
29 Salah al-Din Street
Jerusalem 91010, Israel
Telegrams: Attorney-General, Jerusalem, Israel
Fax:+ 972 2 628 5438
Salutation:Dear Attorney-General
COPIES TO:
al-Haq
P.O. Box 1413,
Ramallah, West Bank
Palestinian Authority
Fax:+ 972 2 295 4903
E-mail:haq@alhaq.org
and to diplomatic representatives of Israel/Occupied Territories accredited to your country.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 26 August 2002.