Detainees in Nafha will hold a hunger strike Tuesday

Monday May 07, 2007 23:07

by IMEMC Staff

Lawyer of Mandela Institute Botheina Douqmaq, visited several detainees in the Nafha Israeli detention facility, and was informed by the detainees that they will hold a one-day hunger strike in protest to the administration’s violation of barring families of detainees in from Khan Younis from visiting their detained family members.

Free the detainees

The Israeli Prison Administration claimed that that was no prior arrangement for the visitation, and forced the families back after they reached the prison gate, although the visitation was already arranged by the Red Cross.

Douqmaq managed to meet detainees Hisham Hijaz, Nasser Al Haj, Mohammad Naifa, Ala’ Abu Jazara, Mohammad Khalaf, Issa Abed-Rabbo, and Sietan Al Waly.

The informed her that they are provided with bad food which forces them to buy their own food from the prison canteen for high prices, but due to the financial crisis of the Palestinian Authority and the embargo, they did not receive their allowances from the Ministry of Detainees since January 2007.

Prison Administration in Nafha separates the Gaza Strip detainees from the detainees of the West Bank. There are 530 detainees from the Gaza Strip in Nafha and they are separated from the 270 West Bank detainees since they are confined to separate branches of the facility.

Detainee Sietan Al Waly, from the occupied Golan Heights, told Douqmaq that the administration is practicing collective punishment policies against the detainees, and that he was confined to solitary for one week and was forced to pay 220 New Israeli Shekels fine in addition to been denied from his visitation rights for one month.

Meanwhile, in Telmond prison for women, Douqmaq visited detainees Niveen Doqqa, Huda Al Aarda, Ibtisam Al Issawi, Shireen Mohammad Khalil, and Aisha Obeyyat.

The detainees complained of bad living conditions and said that several detainees are sick but are not provided with any medical care and attention.

They also complained of repeated attacks against their rooms and of bad treatment by the soldiers.