Khader Adnan, an imprisoned Palestinian activist, has been on a hunger strike for 53 days. He is dying as I write this, and the world stands by.
Khader was arrested by Israeli Occupation Forces in the middle of the night of December 17, 2011 in a home invasion. Addameer, a Palestinian prisoner rights organization, reports of the arrest:
Before entering his house, soldiers used the driver that takes Khader’s father to the vegetable market, Mohammad Mustafa, as a human shield by forcing him to knock on the door of the house and call out Khader’s name while blindfolded.
A huge force of soldiers then entered the house shouting. Recognizing Khader immediately, they grabbed him violently in front of his two young daughters and ailing mother. The soldiers blindfolded him and tied his hands behind his back using plastic shackles before leading him out of his house and taking him to a military jeep. Khader was then thrown on his back and the soldiers began slapping him in the face and kicking his legs. They kept him lying on his back until they reached Dutan settlement, beating him on the head throughout the 10-minute drive. When they reached the settlement, Khader was pushed aggressively out of the jeep. Because of the blindfold, Khader did not see the wall right in front of him and smashed into it, causing injuries to his face.
Khader was immediately subjected to harsh interrogation and torture.
The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel has issued numerous reports on the nature of interrogation of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli military detention that details techniques that include:
Binding in painful position for hours over consecutive days while covering the head of the interrogee with a wet, foul-smelling sack.
Beating.
Shaking (shaking the body and head of the detainee back and forth by a GSS agent who grabs the interrogee by the shoulders or shirt).
Sleep prevention and withholding of food.
Exposure to cold or heat.
Binding to a small, slanted chair.
Verbal abuse, cursing and psychological humiliation.
Exposure to loud music.
Threats against the detainee or his family.
Prevention of basic hygienic conditions and changes of clothes.
Isolation from the outside world (including from attorneys and family members) at times for months.
A Depiction of Torture in the Slanted Chair from The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel
The Addameer report on Khader's case details some the man's ordeal:
Each day, Khader was subjected to two three-hour interrogation sessions. Throughout the interrogation sessions, his hands were tied behind his back on a chair with a crooked back, causing extreme pain to his back. Khader notes that the interrogators would leave him sitting alone in the room for half an hour or more. Khader also suffered from additional ill-treatment. During the second week of interrogation, one interrogator pulled his beard so hard that it caused his hair to rip off. The same interrogator also took dirt from the bottom of his shoe and rubbed it on Khader’s mustache as a means of humiliation.
Khader, demanding his freedom and dignity, has been on a hunger strike since the first day of his detention. He is now in a prison hospital in critical condition.
Khader continues to be held in detention on administrative detention indefinitely. Administrative detention procedures allows the Israeli military to hold Palestinians on secret evidence without charging them or allowing them to stand trial. Military law empowers military commanders to detain a Palestinian for up to six month renewable periods for any security concern. On or just before the expiry date, the detention order is frequently renewed. This process can, and often is, continued indefinitely.
Amnesty International has demanded that Israel immediately try or release Khader.
Khader's protest is a brave act to protest his own treatment and the treatment of the other 5,000 political prisoners held in Israeli detention.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
In New York tonight, there will be a vigil in honor of Khader from 5:30 pm to 7 pm
125th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Blvd (outside State building), Harlem, NY.
In Chicago, the vigil is tonight at 5:30 pm at the Israeli Consulate of Chicago
500 West Madison, Suite 3100, Chicago, IL.
In Washington, DC, join the vigil tonight at 5 pm at Dupont Circle, meet near the fountain. Wear black and bring a blindfold.
Contact Israeli officials via the action alert page at http://samidoun.ca/...
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