URGENT ACTION

Palestinian HUNGER STRIKER NEARS DEATH

Palestinian Khader Adnan ’s life is in danger as he continues his hunger strike in protest against his detention . On 7 February a n Israeli military judge confirmed his four-month administrative detention order, which allows him to be held without charge or trial.

Khader Adnan was arrested from his house in the occupied West Bank on 17 December 2011. On 10 January 2012, he was taken to an Israeli military court and given a four-month administrative detention order, which was confirmed on 7 February. The current order will end on 8 May but could be renewed indefinitely. His lawyer filed a request for an appeal to the Military Court of Appeals, but has not received a response.

On 7 February, Khader Adnan’s wife, Randa, was allowed to visit her husband in hospital for the first time since his detention, after she received a one-day permit from the Israeli authorities. She said that his health is deteriorating: “Medical staff treat him very badly. While I was there he had chest pains and asked a nurse to call Physicians for Human Rights (PHR). The nurse yelled at Khader saying that she does not have time for him and that if he needs medical attention he should break his hunger strike. Another doctor mocked him when he asked for water and said that he should also stop drinking water.” He remains shackled to his hospital bed and constant under armed guard.

The only lawyer allowed to visit Khader Adnan told Amnesty International that the Israel Prison Service (IPS) moved him to five different hospitals and medical centres in the last week, which he said was not necessary given that he is only accepting medical treatment from PHR. Khader Adnan’s lawyers believe that this is intended to add further pressure on him, including by making it harder for his lawyers and family to visit him. The lawyer added that Khader Adnan can still speak and that he is determined to continue his struggle against administrative detention.

PHR was allowed to visit Khader Adnan on 29 January and 7 February, but IPS guards were present on both occasions. PHR has appealed to the authorities to allow their doctors to conduct confidential and private visits.

Please write immediately in English, Hebrew or your own language:

Expressing concern for Khader Adnan's life, and urging that he is given regular access to confidential medical treatment of his choice, treated humanely at all times, and not punished in any way for his hunger strike;

Call on the Israeli authorities to allow him regular and private access to his lawyers, doctors and family;

Calling on the Israeli authorities to release Khader Adnan and other Palestinians held in administrative detention, unless they are promptly charged with internationally recognizable criminal offences and brought to trial in full conformity with international fair trial standards;

P LEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 21 MARCH 2012 TO :

Military Judge Advocate General

Brigadier General Danny Efroni

6 David Elazar Street

Hakirya, Tel Aviv, Israel

Fax: +972 3 569 4526

Email: avimn@idf.gov.il

Salutation: Dear Judge Advocate General

Commander of the IDF – West Bank

Major-General Avi Mizrahi

GOC Central Command

Military Post 01149

Battalion 877

Israel Defense Forces, Israel

Fax: +972 2 530 5724

Salutation: Dear Major-General Avi Mizrahi

And copies to:

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence

Ehud Barak

Ministry of Defence

37 Kaplan Street, Hakirya

Tel Aviv 61909, Israel

Fax: +972 3 69 16940 / 62757

Salutation: Dear Minister

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please insert local diplomatic addresses below:

Name Address 1 Address 2 Address 3 Fax Fax number Email Email address Salutation Salutation

Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date. This is the first update of UA 31/12. Further information: http://amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE15/003/2012/en

URGENT ACTION

Palestinian HUNGER STRIKER NEARS DEATH

ADditional Information

Khader Adnan, aged 33, is a baker, a Masters student at Birzeit University, and a political activist. He is married with two daughters. He was arrested from his home in the village of Arrabe near Jenin in the occupied West Bank on 17 December 2011. He told lawyers and human rights organizations that masked soldiers violently broke into his house, where his mother and children were present. He said that his hands were shackled behind him and that he was thrown onto the floor of the military jeep and kicked and slapped by soldiers while they took him to the settlement of Mevo Dotan. When he arrived at the settlement, his hands were swollen from the shackles and his lower lip bleeding. He was then transferred to Kishon detention centre in Israel for interrogation.

Khader Adnan told lawyers that he went on a hunger strike on the second day of his arrest to protest his ill-treatment by interrogators from the Israel Security Agency (ISA) and the conditions of his detention. According to the ISA briefing that his lawyers received, Khader Adnan was interrogated almost every day from 18 until 29 January 2012; on some days he was interrogated twice. There were seven regular interrogators; other security officials were also present at some points. During interrogations, he was shackled to a crooked chair with his hands tied behind his back in a position that caused him back pain. He said that interrogators threatened him constantly and verbally abused him and his family.

On the fourth day of Khader Adnan’s interrogation, he was put in a solitary confinement cell, as punishment - according to him -for his hunger strike. He remained in solitary confinement for 10 days before he was moved to Ramleh prison hospital on 30 December 2011, after his health deteriorated as a result of his hunger strike. On 31 January 2012, he was moved to a hospital outside prison. He has since been moved to five different hospitals and medical centres. He is reportedly shackled to his hospital bed at all times and under constant armed guard. He is currently held in Ziv hospital in Safed north of Israel. After visiting him for the first time on 7 February, his wife estimated that he has lost a third of his weight since beginning his hunger strike.

According to local human rights organization Addameer, this is Khader Adnan’s eighth arrest by the Israeli authorities, who allege that he is associated with the Islamic Jihad party. Islamic Jihad has a military wing which has carried out armed attacks on Israeli citizens, and the party is considered a terrorist organization by the Israeli authorities. Khader Adnan previously spent a total of six years in Israeli prisons, held mainly under administrative detention orders without charge or trial.

Administrative detention is a procedure under which detainees are held without charge or trial for periods of up to six months, which 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. This “secret evidence” is not made available to detainees or their lawyers, and detainees cannot challenge the reasons for their detention.

According to the Israeli Prison Service, there were 307 Palestinians held in administrative detention on 31 December 2011, but this number may have since increased. One man has been held for over five years.

Name: Khader Adnan

Gender: Male

Further information on UA: 31/12 Index: MDE 15/004/2012 Issue Date: 8 February 2012